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Hurricane Danielle, Season's Strongest Storm, Is on Track to Pass Bermuda
Hurricane Danielle, forecast to become a “major” storm in the Atlantic today, continued on a track that will bring swells to the U.S. East Coast as a small- craft warning was issued east of Bermuda for this weekend.
The hurricane season’s strongest storm so far this year was packing maximum sustained winds of 110 miles (177 kilometers) per hour, 1 mph below Category 3 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory at about 11 p.m. Miami time yesterday. The Category 2 storm was about 625 miles southeast of Bermuda, moving northwest at 12 mph.
“Danielle is expected to become a major hurricane on Friday,” according to the advisory. “Swells from Danielle will begin to arrive on the east coast of the U.S. on Friday. Large and dangerous rip currents are expected throughout the weekend.”
The hurricane center is forecasting Danielle to pass east of Bermuda, where the Bermuda Weather Service warned 38-mph winds and nine-foot (2.7-meter) waves are expected.
Danielle has surpassed Hurricane Alex as the season’s most intense storm. Alex had 105-mph winds when it hit northeastern Mexico June 30. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.
Tropical Storm Earl
Behind Danielle, Tropical Storm Earl strengthened over the Atlantic with 45-mph winds about 1,525 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, the hurricane center said. The system was heading west at 17 mph and forecast to become a hurricane by tomorrow.
Both Earl and Danielle are being deflected away from the U.S. by a low-pressure trough along the East Coast, according to Jim Rouiller, senior energy meteorologist at commercial forecaster Planalytics Inc. in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. That barrier may break down soon and open the way for storms, he said.
“I’m beginning to feel more and more confident that the Gulf and Florida will become targets for hurricane strikes as we approach and move through the Labor Day weekend,” Rouiller said. “Once this trough is removed, the U.S. seaboard along with the Gulf will be under the gun.”
Florida is the second-largest orange producer after Brazil. The Gulf of Mexico is home to about 31 percent of U.S. oil output and about 10 percent of natural gas production. Labor Day is on Sept. 6.
‘Vigorous’ Wave
The hurricane center said it’s also tracking a “vigorous tropical wave” about 350 miles southeast of the Cape Verde islands. The system has a 60 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next two days, according to a bulletin issued at about 8 p.m. local time yesterday.
The system will probably become Fiona, the next name on the hurricane center’s list, said Joe Bastardi, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania. A series of storms may develop as weather patterns move off Africa and out over the Atlantic, he said.
“You can see them lining up over Africa,” Bastardi said. “It is like a conga line.”
In the Pacific, Hurricane Frank was packing 85-mph winds and heading west-northwest at 15 mph, the hurricane center said. The Category 1 storm, about 335 miles south-southeast of the southern tip of Baja California, is forecast to weaken today and tomorrow.
To contact the reporters on this story: Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at bsullivan10@bloomberg.net; Yee Kai Pin in Singapore at kyee13@bloomberg.net
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