Raw!
07-07-2008, 09:52 PM
Bertha quickly jumps to Category 3 hurricane
Bermuda residents urged to keep eye on major storm
MIAMI - Less than a day after becoming the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, Bertha surprised forecasters Monday by quickly growing to become a major storm with maximum sustained speeds of 115 mph.
Bertha started as a Category 1 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity and was only expected to become a Category 2 before weakening.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said it was still too early to determine if Bertha will eventually hit land, but it was moving in the general direction towards Bermuda. Forecasters urged residents there to monitor the storm’s progress.
At 5 p.m. ET, the hurricane was 1,150 miles southeast of Bermuda in the Caribbean. It was moving west-northwest near 12 mph, but its speed was expected to decrease over the tropical Atlantic over the next couple of days.
Energy markets have paid close attention to storms in the Atlantic since the devastating 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, during which a number of powerful hurricanes ripped through the Gulf of Mexico, toppling oil rigs and severing pipelines.
Hurricane forecasters have predicted this season, which began on June 1, will be average or above average. An average season has around 10 tropical storms, of which six reach hurricane strength with winds of at least 74 mph.
The record 2005 season, which included Katrina, the hurricane that swamped New Orleans and killed 1,500 people on the U.S. Gulf Coast, saw 28 named storms form.
Bertha formed last Thursday near the Cape Verde islands off Africa. It is unusual for storms to form so far east so early in the season, and when it does happen, it is frequently a harbinger of heightened storm activity.
The first named storm this year, Arthur, formed in the Atlantic the day before the season officially started June 1 and soaked the Yucatan Peninsula. It did not go above tropical storm status.
This isn't very good news.
If Bertha does make land-fall, it won't be very good because I'm heading off to Miami Beach for a week. But, I hear if it does make land-fall it might only hit Bermuda. But I hear it could also hit North Carolina, and I'll be heading off to Miami so it isn't very good, but the chances are slim to none.
Bermuda residents urged to keep eye on major storm
MIAMI - Less than a day after becoming the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, Bertha surprised forecasters Monday by quickly growing to become a major storm with maximum sustained speeds of 115 mph.
Bertha started as a Category 1 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity and was only expected to become a Category 2 before weakening.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said it was still too early to determine if Bertha will eventually hit land, but it was moving in the general direction towards Bermuda. Forecasters urged residents there to monitor the storm’s progress.
At 5 p.m. ET, the hurricane was 1,150 miles southeast of Bermuda in the Caribbean. It was moving west-northwest near 12 mph, but its speed was expected to decrease over the tropical Atlantic over the next couple of days.
Energy markets have paid close attention to storms in the Atlantic since the devastating 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, during which a number of powerful hurricanes ripped through the Gulf of Mexico, toppling oil rigs and severing pipelines.
Hurricane forecasters have predicted this season, which began on June 1, will be average or above average. An average season has around 10 tropical storms, of which six reach hurricane strength with winds of at least 74 mph.
The record 2005 season, which included Katrina, the hurricane that swamped New Orleans and killed 1,500 people on the U.S. Gulf Coast, saw 28 named storms form.
Bertha formed last Thursday near the Cape Verde islands off Africa. It is unusual for storms to form so far east so early in the season, and when it does happen, it is frequently a harbinger of heightened storm activity.
The first named storm this year, Arthur, formed in the Atlantic the day before the season officially started June 1 and soaked the Yucatan Peninsula. It did not go above tropical storm status.
This isn't very good news.
If Bertha does make land-fall, it won't be very good because I'm heading off to Miami Beach for a week. But, I hear if it does make land-fall it might only hit Bermuda. But I hear it could also hit North Carolina, and I'll be heading off to Miami so it isn't very good, but the chances are slim to none.