Tropical storm Felix could become hurricane

[rodeodance]

Source: (Reuters) -

Tropical storm Felix could become hurricane

By Matthew Bigg 1 hour, 23 minutes

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Felix could become a hurricane Saturday night or on Sunday in the Caribbean and may be a Category 3 hurricane by the middle of next week, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Saturday.


Felix had maximum sustained winds of near 70 mph (110 kph) and was moving west Saturday afternoon after skirting the Caribbean island of Grenada overnight. It would pass near or to the north of the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao Saturday night or early Sunday morning.

"Felix could become a hurricane later tonight or on Sunday," the hurricane center said.

A projection on the Weather Underground Web site for 8 a.m. Sunday showed Felix becoming a Category 1 hurricane on the five-stage Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane strength, meaning it would have sustained winds of at least 74 mph (119 kph).

"We are forecasting it to be a Category 3 hurricane in the northwestern Caribbean Sea by the middle of the week," said forecaster Eric Blake of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070901/ts_nm/storm_felix_dc

[Aviation Pro]

1. Correction: TS Felix will become a hurricane....

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

[uppityperson]

2. It is headed towards Central America? kick

[appleannie1]

3. Felix IS a hurricane

WTNT31 KNHC 020005
TCPAT1
BULLETIN
HURRICANE FELIX INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 5A...CORRECTED
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL062007
800 PM AST SAT SEP 01 2007

...CORRECTED REPEAT SECTION...

...FELIX BECOMES A HURRICANE...NEW WATCH FOR JAMAICA...

AT 8 PM AST...0000 UTC...THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMAICA HAS ISSUED A
TROPICAL STORM WATCH FOR JAMAICA. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS
THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH
AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE ISLANDS OF
ARUBA...BONAIRE AND CURACAO. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT
TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING AREA
WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

INTERESTS ELSEWHERE IN THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA SHOULD
CLOSELY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THIS SYSTEM.

snip

AT 800 PM AST...0000Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE FELIX WAS
LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 12.6 NORTH...LONGITUDE 66.0 WEST OR ABOUT
155 MILES...250 KM EAST-NORTHEAST OF BONAIRE AND ABOUT
270 MILES...435 KM...EAST OF ARUBA.

FELIX IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NEAR 18 MPH...30 KM/HR...AND THIS
GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
ON THIS TRACK...FELIX WILL BE PASSING NEAR OR TO THE NORTH OF THE
ISLANDS OF ARUBA...BONAIRE AND CURACAO LATE TONIGHT OR EARLY SUNDAY
MORNING.

REPORTS FROM A NOAA HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT MAXIMUM
SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 75 MPH...120 KM/HR...WITH
HIGHER GUSTS. THIS MAKES FELIX A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE. ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS
EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

DATA FROM THE STEPPED FREQUENCY MICROWAVE RADIOMETER ON BOARD THE
HURRICANE HUNTER INDICATE THAT HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD
UP TO 15 MILES...25 KM...FROM THE CENTER AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE
WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 140 MILES...220 KM...PRIMARILY TO THE
NORTH OF THE CENTER.

THE LATEST MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE REPORTED BY THE HURRICANE HUNTER
IS 993 MB...29.32 INCHES.

RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE OFFSHORE
ISLANDS OF VENEZUELA AND THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES ISLANDS OF
ARUBA...BONAIRE AND CURACAO.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT1+shtml/020005.shtml

[alfredo]

4. Just want the Yucatan needs, a Cat 3 hurricane.