Baja Prepares for Another Hit

Hurricane Rick Satellite, Image: NOAA

Baja California is preparing for another strike by a hurricane this season. Resort towns near Los Cabos, Mexico are preparing for a direct hit. Visible satellite imagery above shows a weakening Hurricane Rick, although it still packs winds up to 105 miles per hour this Monday afternoon. In September, Hurricane Jimena made landfall north of resort areas near Los Cabos as a category 2 hurricane, quickly weakening as it moved onshore.

Wind Probabilities Hurricane Rick, Image: NOAA

3 Day Track Forecast Hurricane Rick, Image: NOAA

Currently, National Hurricane Center forecasters believe the storm will still be a hurricane when it approaches Los Cabos on Wednesday. Wave action caused by the storms’ high winds is already being blamed for one death in the Los Cabos resort area. The first image above is a product from the National Hurricane Center that shows the probability of tropical storm or hurricane force winds. Currently there is a 70-80% chance of tropical storm force winds affecting Cabo San Lucas on Wednesday.

Large swells from the storms high winds over the last several days will definitely affect the coast of Baja and Mexico. At one point Rick’s maximum sustained winds topped out at 180 miles per hour. Category 5 hurricanes on the Saffir-Simpson scale are 155mph+.

For the latest on Hurricane Rick, please go to my section on Tracking Hurricanes and the MYL Forums.

For the latest on the high swells, check out the forecast from Surfline. Their blog is on the menu bar on the left hand side. Surfline has some great forecasters with the latest information on wind and wave action.

On the East Coast of the United States, it feels like winter! Cold weather advisories are in effect from Georgia to Pennsylvania.

-Dawn Brown

The Pacific is Getting All the Action!

Tropical Storm Marty (courtesy NOAA)

Tropical Storm Marty formed off the Mexican coast last night, and Baja California could once again be affected by a tropical system in the few days. It’s expected to weaken once it gets close to Baja, and it doesn’t look like it will be close enough for Baja to even experience tropical storm force winds. However, wave action from the system could affect swells off the Pacific coast, check out Surfline’s Hurricane Tracker forecast for the latest on the swells from this tropical system.

Remnants of Fred (courtesy NOAA)

On the left hand side of the page, I have the latest satellite imagery from the Atlantic Ocean, which shows the remnants of Hurricane Fred. Fred was the second major hurricane of the season after Hurricane Bill. In this satellite picture, the remnants of Fred are an area of showers and thunderstorms on the far right. At least one reliable computer model has Fred regenerating close to the Bahamas. But I have to remind readers once again that these computer models have trouble forecasting the intensity of a storm.  If Fred did regenerate close the Bahamas, another upper level trough sweeping across the continental United States would carry Fred on a more northerly track once it moved close to the Bahamas. Keep in mind, though, the National Hurricane Center is giving the remnants of Fred a low (less than 30%) chance of redeveloping.

Meanwhile, rain from a STUBBORN area of low pressure continues to plague the Midwest. The US Radar Map shows stormy conditions over Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi from that area of low pressure that dumped heavy rain over Texas and Louisiana this past weekend. Forecast maps show that low persisting over the central United States through next week, when that large upper level trough finally moves through, changing the weather pattern. Remember, you can watch any TV broadcast anywhere across the US by clicking on my link, GET YOUR LOCAL TV FORECAST!. The link is in the right hand column, scroll down to the bottom. Today, a lot of the weather action is in Nashville, Tennessee. You can look at the local radar, and watch the ABC Nashville TV Weather for more information.

Hurricane Ike’s Anniversary was a couple of days ago. A friend sent me this link. It’s pretty cool to see the before and after pictures compiled.  I remember watching KHOU, the CBS affiliate in Houston’s, broadcast online all night.

-Dawn Brown