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Posts with tag: florida | Return to ScienceNewsBlog.com Homepage
Hurricane Ike Threatens South Florida
The latest five-day forecast from the National Hurricane Center takes Hurricane Ike directly into South Florida. Ike is currently a Cat 4 hurricane with winds of 135 mph. A major hurricane hitting South Florida will be an extremely costly storm. It would also require a massive evacuation from South Florida to save lives. We saw a similar mass exodus from Florida in 1999 when Florida residents fled Hurricane Floyd. Fortunately, the five-day forecast is subject to large errors as the NHC expains in the latest Hurricane Ike discussion.
hereafter...Ike is forecast to approach the western
periphery of the ridge and begin to turn west-northwestward. The
big question is when will the turn take place. The track guidance
is in two distinct branches...the GFS...NOGAPS...and UKMET show the
turn occurring over the Bahamas....while the HWRF...GFDL...and
ECMWF take Ike over Cuba or The Straits of Florida. Until it
become clear as to which one of these solutions will prevail...
the official forecast remains between them...close to the
model consensus and the previous advisory.
As a reminder...4 and 5 day forecasts are subject to potentially
large errors in both track and intensity.
If you are tracking Hurricane Ike you can find some local Florida coverage of the storm threat at Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, Ken Kaye's Storm Center, Palm Beach Post, Miami Herald, Local10, CBS4, NBC6 and WSVN.
Posted on September 4, 2008
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Tropical Storm Gamma Threatens Florida
Yet another tropical system has formed in the Caribbean. The new system, Tropical Storm Gamma, is a threat to South Florida according to the National Hurricane Center. Gamma currently has sustained winds of 45 mph and is expected to strengthen. The storm is expected to move North and then quickly to the Northeast. The official NHC forecast shows Gamma making a landfall in South Florida on Monday. South Florida is still recovering from a hard hit by Hurricane Wilma. Gamma is the 24th named tropical storm of this incredibly active hurricane season. The Sun-Sentinel has an article about the approaching tropical storm:
Forming in the western Caribbean on Friday, Tropical Storm Gamma was projected to aim for southwest Florida by Monday afternoon and arrive over this region by that evening possibly with winds up to 65 mph, heavy rains and a high potential for tornadoes -- exactly one month after Wilma.
The good news, at this point: Gamma was not expected to grow into a hurricane but rather remain a tropical storm. Further, a cold front could weaken the storm or guide south of the state, said Jamie Rhome, meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center in Miami Dade County.
Residents should watch it carefully, but don't panic, he said.
"While we want people to pay really close attention to this system, we don't want mass hysteria, given South Florida's sensitivity to tropical systems," he said.
Posted on November 18, 2005
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Three More Tropical Storms
Three more tropical storms have formed in this very active hurricane season. The three storms are Maria, Nate and Ophelia. More information about them can be found on the National Hurricane Center's website. Maria and Nate are forecast to move away from the United States and out to sea. Ophelia's forecast is much less certain. The five-day forecast has it staying off the Florida coast but not moving very far during that time period. The NHC also says it could make landfall on the Florida coast sometime during the next five days. They are much less certain about the forecast of Ophelia than they were with Katrina. Tropical Storm Ophelia is forecast to become a hurricane. If you are looking for coverage of Hurricane Katrina you can find links and updates here
Posted on September 7, 2005
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