At noon the National Hurricane Center made a special announcement that Hurricane Joaquin has increased in intensity. The latest Air Force Reconnaissance mission found a 155 mph wind speed. The visible satellite show the best looking eye so far with this storm. Thankfully this storm is puling away from Bermuda and into the open Atlantic. If you are wondering, this is still barely a Category 4 storm. To reach Category 5, a storm must have winds of 156 mph or higher, but that is academic at this point. Essentially this storm is in the upper echelon of tropical systems where less than 10 percent attain. See more images and information below.
Saffir Simpson Scale: Hurricane Ranking
The storm is larger as the forward speed increased, so thankfully it is moving away from The Bahamas. Hurricane force winds reach 70 miles from the center. Tropical storm force winds reach 205 miles from the center. So this is more than 400 miles across. But this is still 1000 miles from the Mid Atlantic. It is hard to comprehend the impact this storm is having indirectly, but it is NOT here and will not hit the US. Bermuda is the only land on watch now.
SUMMARY OF 1200 PM EDT…1600 UTC…INFORMATION
and Air Force Reconnaissance Flight Results
———————————————–
LOCATION…26.0N 71.6W
ABOUT 595 MI…960 KM SW OF BERMUDA
ABOUT 230 MI…365 KM NE OF SAN SALVADOR
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS…
155 MPH...250 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT…NE OR 50 DEGREES AT 16 MPH…26 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE…933 MB…27.55 INCHES
Has it peaked?
This drop in pressure and increased intensity might be limited by the water temperatures. Sea Surface Temperatures in the path of this storm may now be flow to 90F so as it escaped the cooler upwelling it created over the Bahamas it could work off of that energy. But the path takes it northeast into slightly cooler waters, meaning less fuel to act upon.
National Hurricane Center Track Forecast
Bermuda is under both a Tropical Storm and Hurricane Watch with a pass close to their west in a few days. Considering the push to the east, it is possible the storm gets closer to them than shown here.
Related Joaquin Posts
More sights from the beaches:
Top 10 photos (so far)
Video From Ocean City and Delaware
Coastal Storm and Joaquin related stories:
- Joaquin Still Cat 4 Now Moving North, Not US Storm
- Storm Water Levels: Animation For Chesapeake Bay
- Tropical Storm Like? 17 Ft Waves Already, Warnings, Tides
- It May Feel Like A Hurricane Despite Joaquin Far Offshore
- 3 Day NASA Video Of Hurricane Joaquin Developing
Please share your thoughts, best weather pics/video, or just keep in touch via social media
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