Latest news with #GrandTurkIsland
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Hurricane Erin path shifts, prompts new warnings as NHC tracks 2 other Atlantic systems
Hurricane Erin on Sunday dropped in intensity overnight, but was expected to regain strength while its path shifted prompting new warnings and watches to be issued by the Bahamas while the National Hurricane Center kept track of two other Atlantic systems. As of the NHC's 11 a.m. advisory, the center of Erin was located about 200 miles north-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico and 240 miles east of Grand Turk Island moving west-northwest at 13 mph with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, which makes it a Category 3 hurricane. 'This general motion is expected today, followed by a gradual turn to the north on Monday and Tuesday,' said NHC senior hurricane specialist Richard Pasch. 'On the forecast track, the core of Erin is expected to pass to the east of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas tonight and Monday.' The path shifted more to the south and west than previous projections. The government of the Bahamas issued a tropical storm warning for the Turks and Caicos and a tropical storm watch for the southeast Bahamas. The NHC noted interests in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and central Bahamas should monitor the progress of Erin, while its long-term path could mean outer band winds might affect the Carolina and mid-Atlantic coast of the U.S. The storm became the season's first hurricane at 11 a.m. Friday, with 75 mph winds, but grew to a 'catastrophic' Category 5 hurricane in just one day, undergoing rapid intensification that had sustained winds of up to 160 mph. It began to lose intensity late Saturday after pushing just north of the northern Leeward Islands. 'This slight decrease in intensity is probably due to an eyewall replacement in the inner core, as reported by the Hurricane Hunters, and is likely a temporary short-term fluctuation,' Pasch said. 'The system remains a well-organized and dangerous major hurricane with a impressively symmetric cloud pattern.' It's forecast to remain a powerful hurricane for the next several days, and its wind field is beginning to grow. 'Erin is growing in size, and that trend is expected to continue over the next few days,' Pasch said. 'The expanding wind field will result in rough ocean conditions over much of the western Atlantic.' Hurricane-force winds extend out 25 miles while tropical-storm-force winds extend out 205 miles. Outer bands continue to lash the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic on Sunday, with 4-6 inches of rain in many places, but some areas that could get up to 8 inches. The could lead to flash and urban flooding, along with landslides or mudslides. The system passed by the Cape Verde Islands earlier in the week, causing flash floods blamed for at least nine deaths. It has been moving quickly across the Atlantic. The swells from the storm with dangerous surf and rip currents continue to hit the northeastern Caribbean islands and by early next week are forecast to spread to the Bahamas, Florida and rest of the U.S. East Coast as the storm intensifies and moves up into the Atlantic. 'The forecast cone takes the storm well east of Florida, but coastal impacts are forecast next week,' the National Weather Service in Melbourne stated. 'Surf, rip current and boating impacts reach our coast starting Monday and will peak Tuesday-Wednesday.' The NHC was also keeping track of two other systems in the Atlantic with a chance to develop into the season's next tropical depression or storm. The next name on the list after Erin is Fernand. As of the NHC's 8 a.m. tropical outlook, the most concerning system for Florida was an area of low pressure that could form by midweek from a tropical wave near the Cape Verde Islands, producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms and trailing the path of Hurricane Erin in the central tropical Atlantic. 'Some gradual development of this system is possible during the middle to latter portion of the week while the system moves westward to west-northwestward at 15 to 20 mph across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic,' forecasters said. The NHC gave it a 20% chance to develop in the next seven days. The NHC also continued to track an area of low pressure a couple hundred miles off the coast of North Carolina that had disorganized shower activity to the east of the center. 'Development, if any, of this system should be slow to occur during the next day or so while it moves little over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream,' forecasters said. 'The opportunity for development should end on Monday, when environmental conditions are expected to become unfavorable.' The NHC gave it a 10% chance to develop in the next two days. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently updated its season forecast, now calling for 13-18 named storms for the year, of which five to nine would grow into hurricanes. Two to five of those would develop into major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher. The height of hurricane season runs from mid-August into October while the entire six-month season runs June 1 to Nov. 30. _____
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Climate
- Al Jazeera
Erin downgraded to Category 3 hurricane, NHC says
Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of this year's Atlantic season, is a Category 3, the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, downgrading the storm from Category 4 as the wind speed eased slightly. The storm was 330 miles (530km) southeast of Grand Turk Island packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph), the NHC added early on Sunday. The hurricane had been gauged as high as a catastrophic Category 5 with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (240 kph), then downgraded to a Category 4. It had earlier been forecast to strengthen into this week. On Sunday, Erin was moving west-northwest at nearly 14 mph (22 kph) with a decrease in forward speed expected on Sunday and a turn to the north on Monday and Tuesday, the NHC said. Swells generated by Erin will continue to affect parts of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands for the next couple of days, the NHC said. These swells will spread to the Bahamas, Bermuda, the east coast of the United States, and Atlantic Canada during the early and middle portions of the week. Rough ocean conditions will likely cause life-threatening surf and rip currents, the NHC added. The Bahamas, which provides some meteorological services for the Turks and Caicos Islands, has issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the British islands to its southeast. Erin has also raised concerns about wildfire risks, if human-caused sparks ignite parched vegetation and strong dry winds fan the flames. BMS Group Senior Meteorologist Andrew Siffert said these conditions could arise if Erin grows into a powerful offshore storm prompted by colliding warm and cold air rather than tropical seas. The US government has deployed more than 200 employees from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies as a precaution. Puerto Rico Housing Secretary Ciary Perez Pena said 367 shelters were inspected and ready to open if needed. Officials in the Bahamas are also preparing shelters and urging people to monitor the storm's progress. Erin is the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30 and is expected to be unusually busy. Six to 10 hurricanes are predicted for the season, including three to five reaching major status with winds of more than 177km/h (110mph). Scientists have linked rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic to climate change. Global warming is causing the atmosphere to hold more water vapour and is spiking ocean temperatures, and warmer waters give hurricanes fuel to unleash more rain and strengthen more quickly. Storms that ramp up so quickly complicate forecasting and make it harder for government agencies to plan for emergencies.
Reuters
a day ago
- Climate
- Reuters
Erin downgraded to Category 3 hurricane, NHC says
Aug 17 (Reuters) - Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, has been downgraded to Category 3, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said early on Sunday, as the storm's wind speed eased slightly. The hurricane was about 330 miles (530 km) east-southeast of Grand Turk Island packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph). It had been gauged as high as a catastrophic Category 5 with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (240 kph), then downgraded to a Category 4. It had earlier been forecast to strengthen into this week. The meteorological services of France and the Netherlands discontinued tropical storm watches for St. Martin, St. Barthelemy and Sint Maarten, the NHC said. On Sunday, Erin was moving west-northwest at nearly 14 mph (22 kph) with a decrease in forward speed expected on Sunday and a turn to the north on Monday and Tuesday, the NHC said. Erin was forecast to pass to the east of the Turks and Caicos islands and the southeastern Bahamas on Sunday night and Monday. Swells generated by Erin will continue to affect parts of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands for the next couple of days, the NHC said. These swells will spread to the Bahamas, Bermuda, the east coast of the United States, and Atlantic Canada during the early and middle portions of the week. Rough ocean conditions will likely cause life-threatening surf and rip currents, the NHC said. The Bahamas, which provides some meteorological services for the Turks and Caicos Islands, issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the British islands to its southeast. Erin has also raised concerns about wildfire risks if human-caused sparks ignite parched vegetation and strong dry winds fan the flames. BMS Group Senior Meteorologist Andrew Siffert said these conditions could arise if Erin grows into a powerful offshore storm fueled by colliding warm and cold air rather than tropical seas. Insurance-linked securities manager Twelve Securis said on Friday that Erin was forecast to remain far enough offshore to spare the U.S. East Coast from significant impacts.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Climate
- Arab News
Erin downgraded to formidable Category 4 hurricane
Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, is a formidable Category 4, the US National Hurricane Center said in an update late on Saturday downgrading the storm from Category 5 as the wind speed eased slightly. The storm was about 636km east of Grand Turk Island packing maximum sustained winds of 225kph, the NHC said, down from 160 mph. The NHC forecast Erin is moving toward the west-northwest at nearly 14 mph with a turn more northward expected to occur on Monday into Tuesday. The NHC said the meteorological service of France has discontinued the tropical storm watch for St. Martin and St. Barthelemy, while the meteorological service of the Netherlands has discontinued the tropical storm watch for Sint Maarten. The NHC had previously said it expected Erin to strengthen into next week. The hurricane's center was forecast to pass north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico through Sunday and move to the east of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas on Sunday night and Monday. The storm is expected to dump heavy rainfall through Sunday across the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, the NHC said. Swells generated by Erin will affect portions of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands through the weekend, and the swells will spread to the Bahamas, Bermuda and the East Coast of the United States early in the coming week, it said. The Bahamas, which provides some meteorological services for the Turks and Caicos Islands, issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the British islands to its southeast. Erin has also raised concerns about wildfire risks if human-caused sparks ignite parched vegetation and strong dry winds fan the flames. BMS Group Senior Meteorologist Andrew Siffert said these conditions could arise if Erin grows into a powerful offshore storm fueled by colliding warm and cold air rather than tropical seas. Insurance-linked securities manager Twelve Securis said on Friday that Erin was forecast to remain far enough offshore to spare the US East Coast from significant impacts.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Climate
- Reuters
Erin downgraded to formidable Category 4 hurricane, NHC says
Aug 16 (Reuters) - Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, is a formidable Category 4, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an update late on Saturday downgrading the storm from Category 5 as the wind speed eased slightly. The storm was about 395 miles (636 km) east of Grand Turk Island packing maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph), the NHC said, down from 160 mph. The NHC forecast Erin is moving toward the west-northwest at nearly 14 mph with a turn more northward expected to occur on Monday into Tuesday. The NHC said the meteorological service of France has discontinued the tropical storm watch for St. Martin and St. Barthelemy, while the meteorological service of the Netherlands has discontinued the tropical storm watch for Sint Maarten. The NHC had previously said it expected Erin to strengthen into next week. The hurricane's center was forecast to pass north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico through Sunday and move to the east of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas on Sunday night and Monday. The storm is expected to dump heavy rainfall through Sunday across the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, the NHC said. Swells generated by Erin will affect portions of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands through the weekend, and the swells will spread to the Bahamas, Bermuda and the East Coast of the United States early in the coming week, it said. The Bahamas, which provides some meteorological services for the Turks and Caicos Islands, issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the British islands to its southeast. Erin has also raised concerns about wildfire risks if human-caused sparks ignite parched vegetation and strong dry winds fan the flames. BMS Group Senior Meteorologist Andrew Siffert said these conditions could arise if Erin grows into a powerful offshore storm fueled by colliding warm and cold air rather than tropical seas. Insurance-linked securities manager Twelve Securis said on Friday that Erin was forecast to remain far enough offshore to spare the U.S. East Coast from significant impacts.
