Hurricane Sandy Questions

H ere's where Tammy lies today . Hurricane Sandy Questions ...

and where it's headed: Tammy's center is simply east of Guadeloupe as it moves toward the northwest. Tammy has actually strengthened modestly given that Friday night.

The storm strengthened into a typhoon on Friday early morning in the tropical Atlantic. This is an unusual area for a cyclone to form this late in the year, according to Dr. Phil Klotzbach, a tropical researcher at Colorado State University.

By early in the week ahead, Tammy must turn northward, then northeastward out to sea and not be a concern for the continental United States.

The route northward far from the Caribbean has actually ended up being less particular. Tammy was at first expected to be captured by a cold front by the middle of the upcoming week, but computer system assistance is now recommending that the storm might wander around between Puerto Rico and Bermuda for a long time.

Typhoon Katrina (August 2005) became a big and exceptionally powerful cyclone that caused huge damage and considerable death. It is the costliest hurricane to ever strike the United States, surpassing the record previously held by Cyclone Andrew from 1992.


Cyclone Katrina - Wikipedia
The largest death in Typhoon Katrina was because of flooding triggered by engineering flaws in the flood protection system, particularly the levee around the city of New Orleans. Ultimately, 80% of the city, as well as large areas in surrounding parishes, were flooded for weeks.

Cyclone cautions have now been provided for numerous islands in the northeast Caribbean. That means typhoon conditions are anticipated in a few of these locations. You can see the most recent cautions and watches in the map listed below.

Heavy rainfall, strong winds and high surf from Tammy must spread out across the eastern Caribbean islands through Saturday. Those impacts will last through a minimum of early Sunday in some areas.

Rainfall totals could be 4 to 8 inches (locally up to 12 inches) in the Leeward Islands. The northern Windward Islands may see 2 to 4 inches of rain (in your area up to 6 inches). Parts of eastern Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands could see 1 to 2 inches of rainfall (in your area approximately 4 inches).

T he heavy rainfall might trigger flooding and mudslides in some of these locations.

Norma, now a Classification 1 storm as of 2 p.m. ET, is expected to move over or near parts of Mexico's Baja California Sur-- including Cabo San Lucas-- late Saturday afternoon or early evening, the National Hurricane Center stated.

Flying Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters observed Norma's center located offshore simply west of Cabo San Lucas on Saturday afternoon, and typhoon and conditions were taking place over some areas of of southern Baja California Sur, according to the typhoon center.

Norma is anticipated to be a little weaker by the time it strikes land, but it still will be a cyclone that might bring life-threatening conditions to a tourist-friendly region that's home to a few hundred thousand people, the hurricane center said.

In the Atlantic Ocean, meanwhile, Typhoon Tammy-- a Classification 1 storm as of Saturday afternoon-- has activated hurricane cautions for portions of the Leeward Islands, a chain of several island nations and areas in between the Caribbean Sea and the open Atlantic. Tammy's winds gained ground to 85 miles per hour.

Neither storm is a threat to the US.

In the Atlantic, Tammy preserved maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and was centered about 25 miles north-northeast of Guadeloupe, the National Hurricane Center stated at 2 p.m. ET.

The Classification 1 hurricane lay about 50 miles southeast of Antigua by Saturday afternoon, the cyclone center stated.

Tammy is expected to move near or over parts of the Leeward Islands-- consisting of Guadeloupe and Antigua and Barbuda-- through Saturday night, and after that move north of the northern Leeward Islands on Sunday.

Hurricane-force winds extended outside approximately 25 miles from the storm's center and tropical storm-force winds extended outward as much as 125 miles.

Hurricanes in this part of the Atlantic are rare for late October. Tammy is just the 3rd cyclone to form this far southeast in the Atlantic given that 1900, according to cyclone specialist Michael Lowry.

It's also the latest-forming hurricane in this part of the Atlantic because 1966, according to Phil Klotzbach, a research researcher in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University.

Typhoon experts formerly cautioned cyclones might form in uncommon locations later in the season this year because of the remarkably warm Atlantic Ocean.

A storm surge of 1 to 3 feet is possible for parts of the Leeward Islands.

Heavy rainfall will be among the storm's most severe threats and could result in flash flooding and mudslides. Rain totals for the Leeward Islands are anticipated to be 4 to 8 inches, but might reach a foot in places where the heaviest rain establishes. Rain should be lighter in Puerto Rico and the British and United States Virgin Islands, where 1 to 2 inches of rain is probably.

Conditions will start to improve from south to north throughout the island chain by late Sunday as the storm moves north out of the region.

With Tammy in the Atlantic, only two names are left-- Vince and Whitney-- on the standard Atlantic storm name list before the hurricane center turns to an alternate list of names.

Hurricane Tammy