Hurricane Earl has intensified back up to a category 4 storm this afternoon with winds of 135 mph and a minimum central pressure of 941 millibars. The eye has become very distinct on visible satellite presentation and the hurricane hunters measured flight level winds of 138 knots.
The watches and warnings have been extended northward to now include the New England coastline. A tropical storm warning is now in effect from the North Carolina/Virginia border to Sandy Hook, New Jersey. A hurricane watch has been issued from Woods Hole to Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts, which includes Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island. A tropical storm watch has also been issued for areas around these warnings.
Hurricane Earl is moving to the northwest at 17 mph and is expected to pass very near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina early Friday morning, before turning north-northeast toward the New England coast Friday into Saturday. Preparations for hurricane conditions should be taken right now and any evacuation orders should be followed. While the exact track of Earl is not set in stone, the storm is expected to pass close enough to the coast to cause a significant impact.
In Albany and the Capital District of upstate New York, we will only see fringe effects from Earl, which may mean some rainfall for eastern areas of the region and maybe some breezy conditions. The cold front approaching from our west on Friday afternoon and evening will keep Earl out of our region, but also bring a chance of isolated showers and thunderstorms.
Stay tuned to the National Hurricane Center for the latest information.
Related Articles
- Are you prepared for a natural disaster?
- Albany Wednesday forecast, blazing hot and watching Earl
- Seven years later, has our power grid improved?
- NOAA issues hurricane season forecast update
- AccuWeather releases 2010-2011 winter forecast
Click on the "Subscribe" button above and enter your e-mail address to receive a free alert to your inbox when a new article is published by the Albany Weather Examiner. Follow us and become our fan on Facebook.
Comments