Thursday, August 26, 2010

Tropical Atlantic Is Heating Up...


Hurricane Danielle and Tropical Storm Earl continue to churn away in the central & eastern Atlantic.  Meanwhile...another system is looking very organized as it moves West off of the African coast.


At 4pm Central Time this afternoon...the center of Danielle was located about 680 miles Southeast of the island of Bermuda, and moving Northwest at 15 mph.  Maximum sustained winds are currently estimated at 110 mph...with further strengthening likely over the next 24 hours.


Danielle has developed a pronounced "eye", as seen in the satellite image below:


The system is expected to take a turn more toward the North and then eventually Northeast, with the brunt of the system currently expected to pass East of Bermuda on Saturday afternoon or evening (see image below).  Residents of the island should monitor trends closely, as Danielle is expected to continue as a "major" hurricane with winds in excess of 110 mph during the next 24-36 hours.




Tropical Storm Earl was centered about 1620 miles East of the northernmost Leeward Islands at 4pm CDT.  Maximum sustained winds were estimated at 45 mph.  Earl is expected to intensify to Hurricane strength by Saturday.


The system was moving West at 18 mph...and this general motion is expected to continue through at least early this weekend.  





Meanwhile...further East...another disturbance is moving off of the coast of Africa (as noted as "#1" within the yellow circle in the satellite image at the top of this post).  This system is currently looking quite impressive on satellite imagery, and is likely to become either a depression or storm over the next 24-48 hours.




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