Hanna Accelerates Northeastward .... canceling trains, games, car races and the space shuttle.

[Breeze54]

Hanna Accelerates Northeastward

http://www.accuweather.com/news-top-headline.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=0&date=2008-09-06_11:28

Tropical Storm Hanna is still pushing quickly to the north and east over the Atlantic Seaboard.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Ike is a major hurricane as it continues to move closer to the Bahamas.

Hanna Forecast Eye Path ™


The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center reports that Hanna weakened after landfall early Saturday morning. Hanna made landfall with winds of 70 mph, just below hurricane strength, when the eye moved onshore at 3:20 am EDT near the North and South Carolina border.

At 2 p.m. EDT, the center of Tropical storm Hanna was located near Williamsburg, Virginia. Hanna will continue to weaken over the next several hours, but stronger wind gusts and heavy rainfall will continue through the night.

The Severe Weather Center lists the Tropical Storm Warnings in effect along the East Coast from North Carolina through Maine.

Into Saturday night, for major cities from Washington, DC to Boston, winds will continue to be somewhat gusty and rain will bring some flooding problems.

The center of the storm will be pushing northward along Interstate 95. The strong winds and heavy rain on the east side of the storm will lash beaches from Delaware to Cape Cod, leading to widespread coastal flooding and beach erosion.

Despite the fast forward speed of the storm, most areas from the coastline to just west of I-95 could receive 2 to 4 inches of rain, with local amounts up to 6 inches. However, the speed of the storm will help to bring some clearing already over the mid-Atlantic by Saturday night.

Preparations have been made for the impacts of Hanna. Hundreds of dump trucks hauled in sand to fortify a beach in Upper Township, N.J. Work crews from the District of Columbia to Providence, R.I., cleared storm drains and stocked up on sandbags Friday.

The governors of North Carolina and Virginia declared states of emergency. Officials in coastal states as far north as Maine have advised residents and visitors to be prepared for adverse weather through Sunday.

Because the strongest winds are east of the center of the storm, areas to the west of I-95 could experience significantly weaker winds, but will be dealing with the heavy rainfall.

The strong winds today will drive the rain in sheets, causing problems for motorists and creating the potential for flight delays at the major East Coast airports.

Amtrak has canceled some Saturday service along the East Coast, including the Silver Meteor between New York City and Miami, and the Auto Train that runs from Lorton, Va., to Sanford, Fla.

Hanna has already delayed the game between Philadelphia and New York tonight and has pushed the NASCAR race in Richmond back to Sunday.

According to the U.S. Open website, if Hanna washes out play today, the Men's Semifinal and Women's Final would be rescheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EDT and 9:00 p.m. EDT, respectively. The Men's Singles Final would be rescheduled for Monday at 5:00 p.m. EDT.

Scattered shower will reach Canada's Maritimes later today. On Sunday, the heaviest rain and gusty winds will spread across southern New Brunswick, northern Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Florida and the Carolinas were pummeled on Friday, beginning well before Hanna officially made landfall. Eight-foot breakers and strong rip currents were reported on beaches in northern Florida.

Wrightsville Beach, N.C., was impacted by sustained winds of 43 mph, with gusts topping 50 mph. Roads were flooded along the Southeast coast, Ocean Boulevard looks like a ghost town as Tropical Storm

Hanna moves closer to land Friday Sept. 5, 2008, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
(AP Photo/ Mary Ann Chastain) including in Charleston, S.C.

Rain totals through 4 a.m. EDT include:

* McClellanville, S.C.: 4.96 inches
* Huger, S.C.: 4.30 inches
* Witherbee, S.C.: 3.36 inches
* Laurinburg, N.C.: 3.05 inches
* Raleigh-Durham Intl. Airport: 2.10 inches

The arrival of Hanna and the pending arrival of much more powerful Hurricane Ike have forced NASA to delay the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on the final mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Atlantis was moved on Thursday from the Vehicle Assembly Building to its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center. NASA officials said Friday the target launch date was pushed back two days to September 10, and more delays are possible.

Ike remains a major hurricane this afternoon as it moves west-southwest, more than 200 miles east-northeast of Grand Turk Island. The Category 3 hurricane has sustained winds of 115 mph.

All interests from the Bahamas to Florida and along the Gulf Coast should be monitoring the movement of this potentially devastating storm.

The track of Ike will be influenced by the strength and position of an area of high pressure to the north of the storm. Currently, Ike is forecast to pummel the islands of the northern Caribbean through the weekend with strong surf and rip currents. The increased wave and rip current action will reach the Southeast coast by Monday.

By Tuesday morning, Ike is forecast to still be at Category 3 strength as it moves into the Straits of Florida. After passing between Florida and Cuba, Ike will enter the Gulf of Mexico. The warm water in the Gulf could allow Ike to intensify, which is not the news Gulf Coast residents and officials want to hear less than a week after dealing with Hurricane Gustav.

Associated Press reports that residents and tourists have streamed out of the Turks and Caicos islands ahead of Ike. Earlier this week, Hanna pounded the low-lying islands as it spun nearly stationary for four days.

Chaos and misery reign in Haiti after Hanna lashed the island of Hispaniola and Ike threatens to trigger more deadly floods across the impoverished nation.

AP reports Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste, director of the Haitian civil protection department, confirmed 163 deaths, including 119 in and around the flooded city of Gonaives. There are fears the death toll could soar as the flood waters recede.

U.N. peacekeepers and aid groups struggled to feed an estimated 40,000 people marooned in emergency shelters who are becoming increasingly desperate.

There is one bit of good news from the tropics. Josephine today has been downgraded to a tropical depression as it runs out of steam over the central Atlantic.

Ike Explodes - Now Category 4

http://www.accuweather.com/news-top-headline.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=0&date=2008-09-03_22:20&month=9&year=2008

Hurricane Ike exploded on Wednesday from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane
that is expected to grow stronger. The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center reports that
Hurricane Ike rapidly intensified Wednesday, reaching Category 4 strength in the evening.

Ike is now the third major hurricane of the 2008 season.

Ike has the greater potential to impact the U.S. than Tropical Storm Hanna. According to
Expert Senior Meteorologist John Kocet, by Sunday Ike will be in a position close to where
Hanna is Wednesday, and could reach the Southeast Coast by the middle of next week.



More...

Ike Forecast Eye Path ™


http://hurricane.accuweather.com/hurricane/storms.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=0&ocean=atlantic&storm=Ike&imagetype=move&stormNum=8

[hedgehog]

1. Ike is the one to watch.

I think Hannah is swinging through too fast to do much harm.

[Breeze54]

2. I could cut the air with a knife right now... I'm watching Hanna for

the rains and winds. I brought in my lawn chairs and my plastic trash
can, just in case. And we closed all the windows in our cars. ;)

[Breeze54]

3. Hanna was a killer storm (169 dead in Haiti).... It has started raining here now

lightly. Gray skies... no wind at all, so far.