Saturday, July 27, 2013

Dorian disintegrates

The weather system formally known as Dorian disintegrated Saturday afternoon into what forecasters call a tropical wave, the National Hurricane Center reported.

At 5 p.m. Saturday, wind data from satellites indicate that Dorian is no longer circulating. although the remnants of the system, now with gale-force winds of 40 mph, moving rapidly westward at 24 mph.

Gale-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles north of the center.

The 5 p.m. satellite image:




Friday, July 26, 2013

Tropical Storm Dorian is weakening in the Atlantic as it continues to roll toward the Caribbean.

At 5 p.m. Friday, Dorian was about 1,100 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. It was moving west at 22 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm is expected continue along that path for the next 48 hours.

Satellite images show that Dorian is disorganized and additional weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours.

Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center.

The latest forecast track:

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Dorian pushing 60 mph winds toward Caribbean

Tropical Storm Dorian continues to move slowly toward the Caribbean with 60 mph winds extending 60 miles from it's center.

At 5 p.m. EDT, Dorian's center was about 1,600 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, moving west at about 17 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The storm could strengthen in the next 48 hours as it moves over warmer waters.

It is still too far away from land to trigger any coastal watches or warnings, but the forecast track of the storm could put in north of Puerto Rico by Monday afternoon:



Dorian gaining strength but slowing down

Tropical Storm Dorian is still plodding westward, growing in intensity but slowing its pace across the Atlantic.

At 5 a.m. EDT, Dorian's center was about 700 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm was moving west-northwest at 17 mph and is expected to take a more westerly direction in the next few days.

It is still too far away from land to trigger any coastal watches or warnings. Little change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours.

Tropical storm force winds now extend outward up to 60 miles from the center.

The latest forecast track:


Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Dorian still moving as second system appears

Tropical Storm Dorian is still in the open Atlantic moving west at about 20 mph, the national Hurricane Center reported this afternoon.

At 5 p.m., the center of the storm was about 505 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph with higher gusts. This general motion is expected to continue during the next couple of days.

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Forecasters say slight weakening is possible Thursday as Dorian moves over cooler water.

Tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center.

The hurricane center is also watching a new low pressure system forming about 500 miles east of Bermuda. Forecasters say the system, which is moving northwest, has only a 20 percent chance of developing into a tropical storm in the next 48 hours.

The latest satellite image:

Dorian is season's fourth named storm

That weather system in the eastern Atlantic has formed into Tropical Storm Dorian.

At 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dorian's center was about 410 miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands, the National Hurricane Center is reporting. Dorian is moving toward the west-northwest at about 21 mph.

Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph, and extend 45 miles from the center.

The expected track of the storm could take it near Puerto Rico by Monday morning. Forecasters say, however, that while the storm could strengthen today, cooler water in its path should help weaken the storm by Thursday.


The forecast track:


Tuesday, July 23, 2013

System forming quickly in eastern Atlantic

The National Weather Service says a surface low pressure system in the Atlantic off the west coat of Africa has a good chance -- 60  percent -- of becoming a tropical system.

Forecasters say the system, a couple of hundred miles south of the Cape Verde Islands is moving westward at about 10 mph., with well-defined circulation.

The system only needs a small increase in the amount and organization of thunderstorm activity to form a tropical depression, the weather service's 2 p.m. advisory said.

The latest satellite imagery:


Wednesday, July 10, 2013

So long, Chantal

Tropical Storm Chantal officially became a memory Wednesday afternoon as data from a reconnaissance plane revealed the storm had degenerated into a tropical wave.

At 5 p.m., the remnants of Chantal were expected to spread over Jamaica and eastern Cuba Wednesday night and Thursday, reaching Florida by Friday. Tropical storm force winds up to 45 mph could still affect Haiti and eastern Cuba during the next day or so.

The system is expected to dump 3-6 inches of rain over Hispaniola.

Chantal weakens over Hispaniola; some watches discontinued

Tropical Storm Chantal weakened significantly overnight, and may even be downgraded to a tropical wave later today forecasters said Wednesday.

At 8 a.m., maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph, down from 65 mph Tuesday afternoon. Chantal is expected to pass over the Dominican Republic and Haiti Wednesday, where authorities warned of possible landslides and heavy flooding.

A reconnaissance aircraft was scheduled to fly into the storm Wednesday morning. Signs that the storm is falling apart prompted a hurricane watch to be discontinued for the Dominican Republic's southern coast, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

However, a tropical storm warning was still in effect for the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, and the southeastern Bahamas.

The National Hurricane Center said that on the current forecast track, Chantal's center will be moving near or to the south of Hispaniola and over eastern Cuba on Thursday. However, if the system unravels, remnants will move rapidly westward.

The 8 a.m. forecast track map:



Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Manatee County now "inside the cone"

The 5 p.m. updated forecast track of Tropical Storm Chantal has Manatee County on the fringe of what forecasters call the cone of uncertainty; that is, there's a possibility the storm could head our way.

Even if it doesn't pass directly over Manatee County, experts warn that the area could still feel the effects of the storm.

"A tropical cyclone is not a point. Their effects can span many hundreds of miles from the center," the National Hurricane Center posts on its web site. Since Chantal's tropical force winds are now being felt 90 miles from its center, it wouldn't take a direct hit for Manatee to see damage.

At 5 p.m., the government of the Bahamas has issued a tropical storm warning for the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos islands and a tropical storm watch for the central Bahamas.

A tropical storm warning has been extended to include the entire coast of Haiti, while warnings for Martinique and Guadeloupe have been discontinued.

A hurricane watch is in effect for Barahona to Samana in the Dominican Republic

A tropical storm warning is in effect for:
  • Puerto Rico
  • Entire coast of the Dominican Republic
  • Entire coast of Haiti
  • Turks and Caicos
  • Southeastern Bahamas

A tropical storm watch is in effect for:
  • U.S. Virgin Islands
  • Vieques and Culebra
  • Central Bahamas
The 5 p.m. map:


Chantal gets a little stronger

Tropical Storm Chantal is picking up strength as it blows past the Windward Islands Tuesday, the National Weather Service is reporting.

At 2 p.m. EDT, data from ground observations in Martinique and a reconnaissance plane indicate the storm's maximum sustained winds near its center are 65 mph. It continues to move west-northwest at 29 mph, tracking toward Hispaniola. 

Tropical storm-force winds extend 90 miles from the center, forecasters say.

A hurricane watch is in effect from Barahona to Samana in the Dominican Republic. Tropical storm warnings and watches have been posted throughout the eastern Carribean.

The latest five-day projected track:




Chantal expected to parallel Florida's east coast by the weekend


Tropical Storm Chantal continues to move west toward Florida Tuesday morning with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph.

The forecast track has the storm eventually moving north along Florida's east coast by the weekend.

At 8 a.m. Chantal was about 45 miles north-northwest of Barbados and 85 miles east of St. Lucia, moving west at 29 mph.

Chantal’s center will move away from the Lesser Antilles later today and expected to be over the Dominican Republic by Wednesday, forecasters say.


A tropical storm warning is in effect for:
  • Barbados
  • Dominica
  • St. Lucia
  • Martinique
  • Guadeloupe
  • Puerto Rico
  • Southern coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Engano to the Haitian border.

A tropical storm watch is in effect for:.
  • St. Vincent
  • U.S. Virgin islands
  • Vieques and Culebra
  • Northern coast of the Dominican republic
  • Haiti
  • Turks and Caicos
  • Southeastern Bahamas


Sunday, July 7, 2013

A new system to watch

The National Weather Service has spotted a strong tropical wave over the eastern Atlantic about 950 miles southwest of the Cape Verde islands.

The shower and thunderstorm activity continues to show some signs of organization. Forecasters say there's a 30 percent chance of the system, shown outlined in orange below, becoming a tropical storm in the next 48 hours as it moves westward at 20 to 25 mph.


Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Keeping an eye on the southern Gulf

National Weather Service forecasters are watching an area of low pressure in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday morning.

A broad trough of low pressure is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms across the eastern Gulf of Mexico southward into the northwestern Caribbean sea.

Upper-level winds could become marginally conducive for development during the next couple of days while the disturbance moves generally westward.

The weather service is only giving it a 10 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.








Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Dalila meandering off the Pacific Coast

The fourth named storm of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season formed Tuesday off the west coast of Mexico.

Hurricane Dalila is about 190 miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, and is creeping westward into open water.

Dalila's maximum sustained winds are at 75 mph, with winds reaching 8-0 miles from its center.

The storm, at this point, is no threat to land. There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Manatee under flood watch through Wednesday

MANATEE -- Bradenton and much of the region are under a flood watch through Wednesday morning, as forecasters predict continued heavy rains, according to the National Weather Service.

Early Tuesday, the Weather Service said: "The potential for additional heavy rainfall today on top of some considerable totals already achieved since Sunday will create a concern for flooding in west central and southwest Florida."

For Bradenton on Tuesday, the Weather Service is calling for mostly cloudy skies, with a high near 88 and southerly winds around 15 mph. Gusts could reach 22 mph.

The chance of rain is 70 percent, with showers likely all day and thunderstorms likely after 2 p.m.

Tuesday night, showers and storms are likely before 2 a.m. The chance of rain is 60 percent.
The expected low is around 74.

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/07/02/4592647/weather-alert-more-rain-means.html#storylink=cpy