Potential for Significant Damage

Hurricane Dorian: What You Need to Know

August 30, 2019August 30, 2019Posted in Major Storm, summer, Tropical Cyclones, Weather 360Tagged Atlantic Hurricane Season, Catastrophe, Dangerous conditions, flooding, Florida, Georgia, High Winds, Hurricane, Hurricane Dorian, hurricane season, Hurricane Warnings, Hurricane Watches, Major Hurricane, nhc, North Carolina, Potential for Significant Damage, South Carolina, Storm SurgeLeave a comment

Category 4 Major Hurricane Dorian is barreling towards the US East Coast. The storm, which has rapidly intensified over the past several hours, is expected to reach the Bahamas by Sunday afternoon.

What you need to know:

The Saffir-Simpson Scale:
Category 5: 157+ mph - Catastrophic Damage
Category 4: 130-156 mph - Catastrophic Damage
Category 3: 111 - 129 mph - Devastating Damage
Category 2: 96 - 110 mph - Extensive Damage
Category 1: 74 - 95 mph - Some Damage

As of the evening of August 30, 2019, Hurricane Dorian is a category 4 major hurricane with sustained winds of 130 mph and a central pressure of 950 millibars.

The current National Hurricane Center forecast cone keeps Florida in the cross-hairs. This afternoon, computer model guidance shifted the projected storm path eastward, placing locations from Miami to as far north as South Carolina under the threat of winds well in excess of 100 mph, excessive rainfall, and significant storm surge.

NHC Hurricane Dorian.png — The National Hurricane Center’s official track guidance as of 8 PM EDT on August 30, 2019. Hurricane Warnings (red) and Hurricane Watches (pink) have been issued for the Bahamas. This graphic depicts the potential storm center paths – not the potential extent of storm impacts.

The 8 PM EDT update from the National Hurricane Center has a category 4 storm making landfall near Port Saint Lucie, Florida. While there continues to exist uncertainty in the track of this storm, should this occur, storm surge well in excess of 7-11+ feet is possible on the coast of central eastern Florida, with top sustained winds potentially exceeding 130 – 140 mph in a radius reaching tens of miles from the center of the storm.

Who in the United States mainland will bear the brunt of this storm is still unknown. The storm will make a turn northward as it is picked up by a ridge of high pressure situated over the western Atlantic. When this storm makes its turn northward is still uncertain.

It is vital that everyone on the US East Coast from Miami to South Carolina – and even further north – be prepared to act quickly ahead of this storm.

Please prepare now and stay updated on local guidance and evacuation information from the National Hurricane Center (nhc.noaa.gov), the National Weather Service (weather.gov), and your local emergency management office.

Weather360 will continue to keep you updated on the progress of this storm both here and on our Facebook page.

Be prepared and stay safe!

Hurricane Matthew Expected to Slam Florida

October 5, 2016October 12, 2016Posted in Major Storm, Tropical CyclonesTagged Hurricane Matthew, Hurricane Matthew Expected to Slam Florida, Hurricane Warnings, Landfall Imminent, Major Hurricane, Major US Impacts, Potential for Significant Damage, Storm Surge Threat, US Landfall ImminentLeave a comment

The category 3 Hurricane Matthew has prompted tropical storm watches, tropical storm warnings, hurricane watches, and hurricane warnings for nearly the entire state. Winds in excess of 100 mph may be expected across large swaths of the Southeast from southern Florida to South Carolina in the coming days.

[Image of probabilities of 34-kt winds] — NHC Tropical Storm Force Winds Probabilities for Hurricane Matthew.

Millions have been ordered to evacuate from the coasts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. The time is NOW to prepare for the storm. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE STORM STARTS TO PREPARE. Hurricane Matthew is an extremely dangerous and life threatening storm, and potential impacts to The US and The Bahamas may be comparable to that of Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

*Hurricane Matthew is an extremely dangerous storm, it is highly recommended to prepare and evacuate as ordered by your local governments should they do so. Please consult The National Hurricane Center at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov for more info.*

Hurricane Matthew Bears Down on Caribbean, Poses Threat to US

October 3, 2016October 3, 2016Posted in Major Storm, Tropical CyclonesTagged Hurricane Matthew, Hurricane Matthew Bears Down on Caribbean Poses Threat to US, Hurricane Warnings, Hurricane Watches, Major Hurricane, Potential for Significant Damage, Potential Landfall, Potential US Landfall, Storm Surge PotentialLeave a comment

The monster category 4 Hurricane Matthew is now beginning its path of destruction as it nears the northern Caribbean Islands. Up to over a foot of rain is expected over a wide swath of Haiti, Cuba, and Jamaica, creating the possibility for mudslides and flash flooding.

The National Hurricane Center has forecasted the storm to barrel through The Caribbean and The Bahamas before potentially impacting the US.

Hurricane conditions can be expected across Jamaica, eastern Cuba, and all of Haiti over the next 48 hours, and hurricane conditions are increasingly likely for large swaths of the Bahamas as well as The Turks and Caicos.

After about 72 hours out, the forecast becomes a bit less certain, as it begins to be reliant on, multiple factors, for now, we’ll focus on two.

Factor 1: The low pressure system in the Pacific Northwest is weaker than expected, meaning that once it reaches Hurricane Matthew on the East Coast (if at all), it will not be able to slingshot the storm away from the coast as previously thought.

Factor 2: The high pressure system in the Atlantic is much more dominant than expected, indicating that it may act as a block in Matthew’s path, forcing it much, much closer to the coast, as reflected in last night’s shift in the spaghetti model plots.

Category 5 Hurricane Matthew may Impact US, but Uncertainty Remains

October 1, 2016October 1, 2016Posted in Major Storm, Tropical CyclonesTagged category 5 hurricane, Hurricane Matthew, Major Hurricane, Potential for Significant Damage, Potential Landfall, Potential US Landfall, Tropical CycloneLeave a comment

Hurricane Matthew, now a category 5 storm with winds in excess of 160 mph, is well on its way through the Caribbean, but is expected to take a sharp northerly turn sometime over the next 24 hours.

Current Rainbow Top Infrared Satellite view of Hurricane Matthew provided by the NOAA.

Hurricane Matthew is now, (unofficially as of 7:oo am 10/1/16), a category 5 hurricane, with winds in excess of 155 mph. Overnight, some interesting shifts in the computer models, a the NAVGEM as well as the GFS now point to a potentially devastating storm in the Northeast US sometime over the next week, on the other hand, the ECMWF has held firm in its ‘out to sea’ stance. There will be some interesting things to look for come the 12z run (by about 2:00 pm Eastern Time), so we’ll keep you updated.