Henriette Forms Into A Hurricane
Henriette, formerly a tropical storm, was upgraded to hurricane status early Tuesday morning, August 6, and continues to strengthen throughout the day. Hurricane Henriette’s strengthening may continue throughout the night, however a sudden weakening can occur late Wednesday or Thursday as Henriette passes over more stable air and cooler waters.
Currently Hurricane Henriette, a Category 1 hurricane, is the strongest storm of the 2013 U.S. hurricane season, reaching maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour. Wind speed is expected to increase to 100 miles per hour as it draws closer to hawaii. Wind speeds have increased 15 mph just over 24 hours, meaning that Henriette is growing stronger quicker than expected. Forecasters predict that the storm will increase to a Category 2 hurricane within the next 12 hours.
The storm is located 1,570 miles west southwest off the southern tip of Baja California, and 1,545 miles east of Hilo, Hawaii. The storm continues in a northwest direction at 10 mph, but is expected to take a west northwest turn on Wednesday, August 7. Hurricane force winds extend outward from the center of the hurricane up to 25 miles and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 80 miles.
There are no coastal or land warnings/watches in effect for Hurricane Henriette, as no land areas are in the predicted path of the storm over the next five days. However, remnants or the storm’s outskirts may brush Hawaii later in the weekend, possibly Sunday evening or Monday, August 12. Forecasters hope that the storm will weaken enough to become a tropical depression, passing just south of Hawaii and not posing any major threat to the islands.
Although NOAA predicted that the hurricane season activity would be above average for the Atlantic, this hurricane season has been particularly active in the eastern Pacific, more so than other hurricane seasons, with eight named storms so far this year. Both regions should expect peak season to begin mid-August and last until late October.
Stay tuned for the latest updates on Hurricane Henriette at national-hurricane-center.org.
Recent Comments