east coast – Weather 360

Invest 99L Poses Threat to US Mainland

August 23, 2016Posted in Major Storm, summer, Tropical CyclonesTagged Broad Area of Low Pressure, Cape Verde Islands, east coast, East Coast Hurricane Threat, Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Invest 99L, Leeward Islands, National Hurricane Season, Potential US Landfall, Satellite Imagery, Tropical Depression Fiona, Tropical Storm GastoneLeave a comment

Invest 99L is an area of disturbed weather and thunderstorms currently moving west-northwestward at about 20 mph just east of the Leeward Islands. The storm has already defied some expectations that further organization would stall until the area of low pressure moved closer to Hispaniola, and has prompted an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft trip into the storm later this morning. In the short term, a bit of a model consensus has been reached in terms of whether will the storm go north or south of Hispaniola, and over the past several days, more and more computer models have moved their tracks further to the north of the cyclone-killing mountains in Haiti and The Dominican Republic. The most likely storm track is as follows; the storm will likely go north of Hispaniola and into the Bahamas before either being pulled north, or continuing on a track west over Florida (Sorry for the uncertainty, it’s still a bit early…) The most likely tracks do have one thing in common beyond the short term track though; most suggest landfall of at least a Tropical Depression somewhere on the East Coast of The United States. Whether the storm traverses Florida and makes another landfall somewhere in the Gulf before being pulled back into The Atlantic, or whether the storm moves up The East Coast, The United States will likely be impacted in some way, shape, or form by what is now Invest 99L. It is important for those on The East Coast of The United States as well as those on the west coast of Florida to monitor the situation as it progresses and to stay tuned to updates from the National Hurricane Center.

Here's a look at The Tropical Atlantic Basin Satellite Imagery. 
Tropical Depression Fiona is north of The Leeward Islands, 
Invest 99L is east of the Leeward Islands,
And Tropical Storm Gastone is just west of The Cape Verde Islands.

More detail regarding Computer Model variations and outcomes can be found at our Hurricane Center page, where Weather360 is currently covering Invest 99L, Tropical Storm Gastone, as well as Tropical Depression Fiona in The Atlantic.

Tropical Storm Erika may impact Southeast Coast, but will it make it there?

August 28, 2015August 28, 2015Posted in Tropical CyclonesTagged Atlantic Hurricane Season, computer models, Cuba, east coast, ECMWF, Euro, Florida, GFDL, GFS, Hispaniola, Hurricane, Hurricane Hunters, Hurricane Season 2015, Invest 98L, Moutains, NAM, nhc, Puerto Rico, SFWMD, Southeastern United States, The Bahamas, The Turks and Caicos, The Virgin Islands, Tropical Storm Erika, Weather 360Leave a comment

As of 11:30 AM EDT/AST

Tropical Storm Erika has sustained winds of about 50 MPH with gusts upwards of 60 MPH. The storm is moving west-northwestward at the moment over the Dominican Republic. Tropical Storm Warnings are still in effect for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, parts of The Turks and Caicos along with The Bahamas, and all of Hispaniola. Hurricane Hunter Aircraft are in the storm.

The Track

This image is made public by the South Florida Water Management District (.gov)

The track seems to be locking in and narrowing down, well, at least compared to yesterday at this time, but nonetheless, the expected track and intensity are still at a state of ‘low confidence’ as mentioned by the NHC in their latest Tropical Forecast Discussion. The general trend though, is that the storm will pass over Hispaniola over the next day, then turn northward toward Florida, then possibly re curving, to go back over the Atlantic and to head up the East Coast. For those in Florida or along the Southeast Coast of the United States, please continue to monitor the situation, as the cone of uncertainty continues to include the possibility of a major storm impacting the Eastern Seaboard.

Intensity, Will She Survive?

Who knows, Erika is seeming to have a mind of her own as she has not followed the official NHC track whatsoever over the last several days. Although this is true, over the past hour or two Erika has seemed to finally get her act together (or the NHC for that matter) in determining the track, because Erika’s center of circulation along with her discombobulated thunderstorms have seemingly begun to shift to the northwest. Erika is expected to strengthen at least to a higher-grade Tropical Storm by the NHC, and by a very consistent computer model, the GFDL, a major Category Four storm off of the Southeast Coast. But what is the driving force behind its intensity? Mountains…

Believe it or not, the only difference in the computer models is if Erika will be torn up enough by the mountains for it not to reform to a well-defined system. According to the NHC, Erika will be so torn up by Hispaniola’s mountains, that it will not be able to strengthen too significantly before potential impact with Florida. This whereas the GFDL computer model along with some others, suggest a less torn-up version of Erika and strengthen her rapidly, causing her to not impact Florida for too long and move her up the US East Coast quickly as a large Major Hurricane (as of 6 UTC.)

Official Alerts:

Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect for The Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, all of Hispaniola, The Turks and Caicos, The Bahamas.

Tropical Storm Watches are in effect for parts of Cuba, and the northwest portions of The Bahamas.

Weather 360 3.A.S.: Tropical Storm Warning areas are under a Level I Emergency, Locations under Tropical Storm Watches are under a Level II Alert, and a Level III, Be Aware, statement is for the Entire East Coast from Florida to Massachussetts.

Weather 360 will continue to keep you updated on the progress of Erika.

Tropical Storm Erika may pose threat to entire East Coast if models hold through

August 27, 2015Posted in UncategorizedTagged Atlantic Hurricane Season, east coast, ECMWF, GFDL, GFS, Hispaniola, Hurricane, Hurricane Season 2015, HWRF, Leeward Islands, Mid Atlantic, New England, Puerto Rico, Southeastern United States, The Bahamas, The Turks and Caicos, Tropical Storm Erika, Virgin IslandsLeave a comment

BREAKING WEATHER NEWS: 3:45 PM EDT/AST

It is now almost 4 o’clock across the Eastern Seaboard of the US and with the latest run of the computer model runs, some fairly intriguing information has come out as well.

What’s happening?

As of the 12 UTC update, several computer models that do bring Erika up the East Coast, also bring Erika to Category 4 and Category 5 status while nearing the Outer Banks. This could, if true, mean that a potential catastrophic disaster could be felt anywhere from Florida, to New England, with that in mind, we do remind you that some computer models do still bring a weaker system into Florida, which would avert a potential catastrophe. For anyone from Florida to New England, we do advise to at least be thinking about preparation for this potential storm.

For those in the Caribbean Islands, including Hispaniola, The Turks and Caicos, and The Bahamas, we recommend immediate action, as we expect a slight shift in the track by the NHC over the next hour.

Bottom Line: BE PREPARED, Don’t let a storm catch you off guard.

We will continue to keep you updated on the progress of Erika.

HEAT WAVE INCOMING FOR THE NORTHEAST!

June 18, 2015Posted in UncategorizedTagged current weather conditions, east coast, heat wave, high humidity, high temperatures, Northeast, nyc, temperatures riseLeave a comment

Today in and around New York City, temperatures will be around 70 degrees with some rain, but next week, especially around midweek, a very intense heat wave is expected to arrive.

This heat wave will not only bring heat indexes in NYC to rise above 90, but across the East Coast temperatures will be above normal for this time of year with a very high humidity. Temperatures in places such as D.C. could reach 90, and the heat indexes could soar into the triple digits. Although this heat wave will strike next week, it is not expected to last very long, by the end of the week and the weekend, some rain will arrive in the NYC area to cool things off by several degrees.

Remember to stay hydrated!

INVEST 90L FORMS NEAR FLORIDA, MODELS HAVE THIS HEADING NORTH

May 6, 2015Posted in UncategorizedTagged Ana, Atlantic Hurricane Season, computer models, current weather conditions, early start to hurricane season, east coast, forecasts, hurricane season, Hurricane Season 2015, Invest90L, Outer Banks, Potential Landfall, Southeastern United StatesLeave a comment

The computer models in a way have shifted overnight, instead of a track more into South Carolina, the majority of the computer models are suggesting that this storm will likely impact northern parts of South Carolina, and mostly coastal areas in North Carolina.

What is this talk about Invest 90L heading northwards?

The computer models are beginning to suggest that Invest 90L has the potential to become a Tropical Storm before landfall, but also some of the models are also beginning to suggest that this storm could impact the Outer Banks, then move further northward as a weak Tropical Depression and merge with an incoming system to bring more rain to the Northeast United States.

Weather 360 urges anyone living on or near the coast in areas that may be impacted by this storm later on this week to at least think about potentially evacuating due to storm surge and flooding or having an emergency hurricane kit, which is shown in an example on the side of this page. Please though, BEFORE you make any decisions, consult the NHC’s website, nhc.noaa.gov, to see what plan is best for you.

Tropical disturbance in the Atlantic could cause some serious problems to the East Coast

May 4, 2015Posted in UncategorizedTagged atlantic, Atlantic cyclone, Atlantic Hurricane Season, early start to hurricane season, east coast, hurricane season, Hurricane Season 2015, Southeastern United States, tropical disturbanceLeave a comment

Have a look at the 12 UTC run of the CMC computer model.

What your seeing is the 12 UTC run from the CMC model, which, if you focus into the Southeastern Coast, you will see a simulated infrared image that depicts a well-developed cyclone with what appears to be an eye to the storm (meaning that this could be near/ at hurricane status soon.)

Due to this storm’s likelihood of being torn apart at the upper levels by a dip in the Jet Stream, it will likely originate as a Sub-Tropical system, with the potential to gain some tropical characteristics before its possible landfall there soon after. Although the CMC model is predicting a strong system to appear, most of the computer models are keeping this likely at or slightly below Tropical Storm stage. Still, at the moment, the forecasts are all over the place.

For anyone living on or near the Southeastern Coast, stay tuned to any possible announcements from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) regarding this system. You can also visit our Hurricanes 360 page for a view at our highlighted areas that may be at risk, be we do stress to always consult with the NHC before doing anything.

Stay safe, and stay tuned.