A tropical storm that meteorologists have been tracking across the Atlantic has been upgraded to a category 4 hurricane.
Earlier this week, weather experts were updating people in the US about Tropical Storm Humberto, which marks this year’s eighth named tropical storm, in light of it having hit wind speeds of 34 knots.
People on the East Coast of America and the Bahamas have been urged to keep an eye on the storm’s movements over the weekend.
FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross said: “There are too many imaginable scenarios to enumerate, but the bottom line is that everyone in the Bahamas and along the East Coast from Florida to the mid-Atlantic should plan to stay informed this weekend.”
Now, Humberto has officially become a hurricane and reached category 4 yesterday (September 26).
As per The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, a category 4 hurricane means that ‘catastrophic damage will occur’.
“Well-built framed homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and/or some exterior walls,” the National Hurricane Center’s website (NHC) warns.
“Most trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.”
It’s forecast that Hurricane Humberto will not make landfall but, with the strength of it in mind, experts have warned of possible life-threatening rip currents.
Hurricane Humberto is generating strong windswells (a type of wave caused by local winds blowing over the water) that are expected to reach the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda, Newsweek reports.
There are no coastal warnings in place in the US at the moment but there are warnings for Central Bahamas, including Cat Island, the Exumas, Long Island, Rum Cay, and San Salvador, as well as portions of the northwestern Bahamas, including Eleuthera, New Providence, the Abacos, Berry Islands, Andros island, and Grand Bahama Island, says the NHC.
The news of Humberto becoming a category 4 hurricane comes amid fears of the ‘Fujiwhara Effect’ taking place.
On Thursday it was reported that there were two storms (Hurricane Humberto and what’s now known as Potential Tropical Cyclone 9 — previously Invest 94L) making their way across the Atlantic and there was a chance they could collide with one another.
The rare phenomena has different outcomes: the stronger hurricane absorbing the other, the two storms spinning around each other ‘before shooting off on their own paths’, or them colliding and becoming one larger, stronger storm.
The ‘Fujiwhara effect’ could be on its way to the US, and here’s which states could find themselves with devastating effects.
We have seen many natural disasters in the US recently, with many hurricanes causing destruction and chaos in their path.
Recently, we saw the fear caused by Hurricane Erin, and now the National Hurricane Center (NHC) is warning about Hurricane Gabrielle, which was confirmed to be a hurricane on Sunday (September 21).
The US is no stranger to the natural twisters, but the Fujiwhara effect is something new and horrifying.
It occurs when two large storms interact with one another.
So far, this year’s tropical season in the Atlantic hasn’t seen much activity – with seven hurricanes recorded as of yet.
To constitute a tropical storm, it must reach winds of 34 knots, says the Met Office, and above that, it could become a scary force.
Sadly, there is an eighth named hurricane called Tropical Storm Humberto, which developed Wednesday (September 24).
As of right now, it is forecast to take a curved path between Bermuda and the East Coast of America, reports AccuWeather.
A ninth storm called Storm Imelda is also expected to come into fruition.
Humberto is expected to become a major hurricane this weekend, and in the case the two storms clash paths, this could mean very dangerous things for parts of the US.
As of right now, the East Coast and the Bahamas are expected to be impacted by the two storms.
The phenomenon, which was named after Japanese meteorologist Sakuhei Fujiwhara in 1921, occurs when two cyclones come within 900 miles of each other and start spinning around a shared center.
Fox Weather meteorologist Greg Diamond told the NY Post: “The Fujiwhara Effect is when storms close together, interact, and rotate around each other.
“Or simply, they dance around each other. For tropical systems, the two must be within 900 miles of each other. For ‘ordinary,’ non-tropical storms, they need to be within 1,200 miles of each other.”
Depending on the strength and size of the cyclones, they could either smash together to create a mega cyclone, or they could absorb one another, or simply fade away.
While Humberto is rapidly intensify into a major Category 3 storm, and is expected to reach the level early next week, Imelda should cause Georgia and Carolina coasts to be shredded by damaging winds, a life-threatening storm surge and heavy flooding starting Sunday (28 September).
Tennessee Valley could also funnel abundant tropical-laden air into the Carolinas, parts of the southern and central Appalachians as well as the Mid-Atlantic next week, as per WPLG-TV hurricane specialist Michael Lowry, via USA Today.
He warned of an ‘enhanced flood threat for these areas’ that could start over the weekend.
Mike Boylan, storm chaser and founder of Mike’s Weather Page, joined Fox’s LiveNOW to share how he had been watching the movements of the two storms, noticing that even Florida could be impacted too, as he agreed with other experts on the areas to be effected.
“We’re talking about the Fujiwhara effect as these two hurricanes interacting with each other, potentially pulling it out further to the Atlantic,” he said, adding: “But also, the possibility of pushing it to the coast of the Carolinas.”
The chaser explained that ‘you can see it potentially over South Carolina and North’, and also potentially tracking into Georgia.
But it’s likely that the two storms could steer clear of one another, depending on how Imelda moves.
“When it comes to Humberto and soon-to-be Imelda, the higher-odds scenario now is that the large upper-level low-pressure system and front that’s producing the rain from the Gulf Coast to New England will pick up likely-Imelda and pull it north,” Diamond said.
“If this happens, likely-Imelda and Humberto maintain enough distance from each other that they don’t ‘Fujiwhara.’”
Hurricane season is well and truly here.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 all the way to November 30 and the latest storm headed towards the US is Hurricane Erin.
The hurricane has been intense from the very beginning and was initially reported to be a Category 1 hurricane after hitting wind speeds of 75mph. Within 24 hours, this had hiked a rare Category 5 hurricane, CNN reports, making it one of only 43 Category 5 hurricanes on record in the Atlantic.
Per the National Weather Service, Category 5 hurricanes are storms that reach wind speeds of 130 to 150mph which can cause ‘catastrophic damage’.
“Well-built framed homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and/or some exterior walls,” it goes on to warn.
“Most trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.”
#Erin is expected to produce life-threatening surf and rip currents along the beaches of the Bahamas, much of the east coast of the U.S., and Atlantic Canada next week for latest beach forecast visit weather.gov/beach
In light of the intensity of the storm, the National Hurricane Center was forced to issue an urgent warning on Saturday (August 16).
One of its key messages stated: “Erin is expected to produce life-threatening surf and rip currents along the beaches of the Bahamas, much of the east coast of the US, and Atlantic Canada next week.”
AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva has shared more details on what to expect.
“Erin is forecast to slowly curve to the north as it continues to strengthen over the weekend. At this time, the storm is forecast to remain hundreds of miles off the East Coast,” DaSilva said.
“Beaches along the entire East Coast, from Florida to New England and Atlantic Canada, will likely experience rough surf and dangerous rip currents as Erin tracks north and eventually northeast,” the weather expert added.
Protruding coastal areas are at highest risk. These include North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Long Island, New York, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, says AccuWeather.
While still dangerous, the storm had dropped to a Category 3 storm by the early hours of Sunday morning (August 17).
It is forecast to return to a Category 5 storm however, says CNN.
Sadly Hurricane Erin isn’t the only intense storm that’s expected to seriously affect America in the coming months.
This hurricane season will reportedly be ‘above average’. Earlier this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast that there will be 13 to 19 named Atlantic storms in 2025, which is higher than historical averages.
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