Sunshine Through The Weekend While Irma Buzz Saws Bahamas Florida

Sunshine Through The Weekend

While Irma Buzz Saws Bahamas Florida

The cold front that stalled out yesterday and brought us a solid soaking rain yesterday and last inght is now finally moving offshore and weather conditions have improved already this morning from west to east with dry and and clear skies taking over. It will be a very nice day overall with plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the 70s. Other than an upper air disturbance dropping from the Western Great Lakes that will play through here tomorrow with some clouds, there are no serious weather issues here for our area through the weekend and into Monday of next week at least. At the bottom corner of the satellite loop you can see the northern fringe of Hurricane Irma as it nears the Southeastern Bahamas.

SATELLITE LOOP

REGIONAL RADAR

No issues today with regards to the radars as they should be quiet near us and other than a few showers that will pop up well north and west of the coast on Friday, they are going to be shut down through the weekend.

LOCAL RADAR NEW YORK CITY

Friday might see a few clouds in the mix as that Great Lakes upper air disturbance moves through. Behind is a reinforcing shot of cool dry air that takes us through Sunday. Most highs Friday through Sunday will be in the upper 60s to mid 70s and nighttime lows will be in the 50s with many 40s in areas just inland of the coast. There are no worries from Hurricane Irma here as Irma will be nearing South Florida over the weekend.

HURRICANE IRMA

With regards to Irma, it remains a category 5 hurricane this morning as it moves away from the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The circulation is getting slightly distorted by the large island but it still remains impressive on the satellite loop. The eye appears to be heading for Turks & Caicos Islands in the Southeastern Bahamas where a storm surge of up to 20 feet is forecast. A hurricane watch is likely to go up for the Florida east coast sometime later today.

…EYE OF IRMA MOVING WEST-NORTHWESTWARD OFF THE NORTHERN COAST
OF HISPANIOLA…
…HEADING FOR THE TURK AND CAICOS ISLANDS…

SUMMARY OF 800 AM AST…1200 UTC…INFORMATION
———————————————-
LOCATION…20.1N 69.0W
ABOUT 110 MI…180 KM N OF PUNTA CANA DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
ABOUT 165 MI…270 KM SE OF GRAND TURK ISLAND
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS…180 MPH…285 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT…WNW OR 290 DEGREES AT 17 MPH…28 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE…921 MB…27.20 INCHES

WATCHES AND WARNINGS
——————–
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:

None.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for…
* Dominican Republic from Cabo Engano to the northern border with
Haiti
* Haiti from the northern border with the Dominican Republic to Le
Mole St. Nicholas
* Southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands
* Central Bahamas
* Northwestern Bahamas

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for…
* Cuba from Matanzas province eastward to Guantanamo province

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for…
* Dominican Republic from south of Cabo Engano westward to the
southern border with Haiti
* Haiti from south of Le Mole St. Nicholas to Port-Au-Prince
* Cuba provinces of Guantanamo, Holguin, and Las Tunas

A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected
somewhere within the warning area. Preparations to protect life and
property should be rushed to completion.

A Hurricane Watch means that hurricane conditions are possible
within the watch area. A watch is typically issued 48 hours
before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force
winds, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or
dangerous.

A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are
expected somewhere within the warning area.

Interests elsewhere in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, as well as
Cuba and Florida should monitor the progress of Irma. A Hurricane
Watch will likely be issued later this morning for portions of
southern Florida and the Florida Keys.

For storm information specific to your area, please monitor products
issued by your national meteorological service.

DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
——————————
At 800 AM AST (1200 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Irma was located
near latitude 20.1 North, longitude 69.0 West. Irma is moving
toward the west-northwest near 17 mph (28 km/h), and this general
motion is expected to continue with some decrease in forward speed
for the next couple of days. On the forecast track, the eye of Irma
should continue to move just north of the coast of Hispaniola today,
be near the Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas by this
evening, and then be near the Central Bahamas by Friday.

Maximum sustained winds remain near 180 mph (285 km/h) with
higher gusts. Irma is a category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson
Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely
during the next day or two, but Irma is forecast to remain a
powerful category 4 or 5 hurricane during the next couple of days.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 50 miles (85 km) from
the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185
miles (295 km).

The latest minimum central pressure just reported by an Air Force
Hurricane Hunter plane is 921 mb (27.20 inches).

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
———————-
STORM SURGE: The combination of a life-threatening storm surge and
large breaking waves will raise water levels ABOVE NORMAL TIDE
LEVELS by the following amounts within the hurricane warning area
near and to the north of the center of Irma. Near the coast, the
surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves.

Turks and Caicos Islands…15 to 20 ft
Southeastern and central Bahamas…15 to 20 ft
Northwestern Bahamas…4 to 7 ft
Northern coast of the Dominican Republic…3 to 5 ft
Northern coast of Haiti and the Gulf of Gonave…1 to 3 ft
Northern coast of Cuba in the warning area…5 to 10 ft