Hurricane Florence has rapidly intensified today from category 2 status this morning to category 4 status this evening. As Florence moves over very warm waters over the next couple of days, it should remain as a “major” hurricane and a climb to category 5 is not out of the question. All signs continue to point to a WNW track for Florence over the next few days with a possible landfall late Thursday/early Friday near the NC/SC border region. Once Florence reaches the Carolinas, it’ll run into an “atmospheric road block” as very strong high pressure ridging is setting up to the north across the northwestern Atlantic and southeastern part of Canada. As a result of the slow down, Florence is likely to generate tremendous amounts of rainfall in the Carolinas and into at least parts of the Mid-Atlantic (e.g., Virginia) over an extended period of time.
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All eyes are focused on Hurricane Florence as we begin the new week and chances for a major impact on the US east coast continue to grow. Florence is now churning slowly towards the US east coast as a category 2 hurricane and may make a landfall late Thursday somewhere along the Carolina coastline – likely with “major” hurricane status. Very strong high pressure ridging is now building at upper levels of the atmosphere across southeastern Canada and the northwestern Atlantic and this will be a key player in the push of Florence towards the east coast over the next few days. In addition, this very strong high pressure ridge will eventually act as an “atmospheric brick wall” for Florence once it reaches the Carolinas and the brakes will be put on any attempt at a northward advance by the storm. This eventual slow down in the northward advance of Florence will allow for an extended period of heavy rainfall and the result could be tremendous rainfall amounts in the Carolinas and perhaps into at least parts of the Mid-Atlantic region.
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Florence was downgraded in the overnight hours to “tropical storm” status, but it is quite likely to return to “major” hurricane status (i.e., category 3 or higher) in coming days. The evolving upper-level weather pattern will allow for Florence to head westward towards the US east coast over the next several days and it could have a significant impact during the latter part of the week. Meanwhile, Tropical Depression Gordon is currently drifting slowly to the north over Arkansas and it will combine with a strong cool frontal system to produce a wide swath of heavy rainfall through early next week extending from the south-central US to the Mid-Atlantic region. In addition, there are two other tropical systems in the eastern Atlantic that are very likely to intensify to hurricane level in coming days. The first of these trailing systems is likely to head on a “southern” track taking it towards the Caribbean Sea and there is a chance that the last system of the four will curve northward to the open Atlantic.
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Hurricane Florence continues to churn slowly to the northwest over the central Atlantic and it remains a threat to the US east coast. Tropical Depression Gordon has nearly grinded to a halt over the south-central US and it will combine with a strong cool frontal system to produce a wide swath of heavy rainfall over the next several days extending from the south-central US to the Mid-Atlantic. And if that isn’t enough, there is a third tropical wave in the eastern Atlantic that has an excellent chance of intensifying in coming days as it likely takes a more “southern” track compared to Florence.
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The climatological peak of the Atlantic Basin tropical season comes in mid-September and this year is certainly holding true to form. Tropical Storm Gordon came ashore overnight in the vicinity of the Alabama/Mississippi border region and is now well inland over the central part of Mississippi. While Gordon has been downgraded to tropical depression status, it is likely to contribute to an extended swath of heavy rainfall in coming days. Meanwhile, Florence has intensified into major hurricane (category 3) status out over the central Atlantic. There is still a chance that Florence gets “captured” by an eastward-moving upper-level trough of low pressure this weekend over the north Atlantic, but odds favor it being “left behind”. If indeed Florence is not “captured” by the trough this weekend then strong and expanding high pressure ridging to the north early next week could very well steer it westward towards the US east coast. Any potential impact on the US east coast by Hurricane Florence would likely come during the middle or latter part of next week.
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The climatological peak of the Atlantic Basin tropical season comes in mid-September and this year is certainly holding true to form. There are currently three tropical systems to monitor and other systems are likely to form in coming days. Tropical Storm Gordon is heading towards the Mississippi/Louisiana border region and is likely to make landfall there late tonight. Florence has just reached hurricane status and it is moving on a WNW track out over the open central Atlantic. There is a chance that Florence gets "captured" by a eastward-moving trough this weekend; however, if it is left behind then the evolving pattern could become quite threatening for the US east coast. Yet another system trails Florence relatively close to Africa’s west coast and it will also likely become a concern in coming days.
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The climatological peak of the Atlantic Basin tropical season is around the middle of September and it certainly looks like there will be a ramp up in activity after a relatively quiet month of August. In fact, there very well may be a burst of activity with potentially several named storms over the next 2 or 3 weeks taking us right into the middle of September. Two areas of interest currently exist and the "front-runner" of these two systems could actually have an impact on Florida and the Gulf of Mexico by the early-to-middle part of next week. The second system is still not far off of Africa's west coast and it will have to be closely monitored given the expected strong high pressure ridging next week across the Northeast US and southeastern Canada.
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The Pacific Ocean is the planet’s biggest and its sea surface temperature (SST) pattern has a tremendous influence on all weather and climate around the world. In particular, El Nino conditions (warmer-than-normal) in the equatorial part of the Pacific Ocean can have a tremendous impact on winter weather in the US depending on its intensity and duration. In addition to duration and intensity, the specific location of an El Nino in the equatorial Pacific Ocean can be quite crucial to wintertime temperatures and precipitation patterns in the US and current signs point to a weak-to-moderate strength El Nino that is “central-based” and this raises the prospects for a cold and snowy winter in the eastern US.
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Hurricane Lane weakened some in the past 24 hours as it has encountered increased southwesterly wind shear, but it remains a “major” category 4 storm as it slowly closes in on the Hawaiian Islands from the south. There is still a good chance that Hurricane Lane will not make actual landfall on any of the island chain; however, it'll still generate tremendous amounts of rainfall on parts of the state and some sections can experience hurricane conditions (e.g., Maui, Oahu). The fact that it is a slow mover and will come close to the island chain will allow for a prolonged period of torrential rainfall, especially, on windward facing slopes with up to two or three feet possible on the Big Island. This is very likely not going to be the last tropical threat for Hawaii this season as warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures and a developing El Nino in the central Pacific Ocean will likely aid in the formation of additional systems in coming days.
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In general, the Pacific Ocean has had more tropical activity this season compared to the Atlantic Basin and that trend should continue in the near term. Sea surface temperatures are playing a role in this trend and they are currently warmer-than-normal in the vicinity of Hawaii with a major hurricane headed in that direction. Fortunately, Hurricane Lane is likely to not make a direct hit on the islands and it should undergo steady weakening in coming days due to increasing amounts of wind shear. Nonetheless, Hurricane Lane will be a formidable storm for the state of Hawaii with potential significant impact in terms of rainfall; especially, on the Big Island. This is very likely not going to be the last tropical threat for Hawaii this season as warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures and a developing El Nino in the central Pacific Ocean will likely aid in the formation of additional systems in coming days.
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