Environmental

Hurricane Irene Advisory, August 24, 2011 (5 AM ED)


Miami, Florida—(ENEWSPF)—August 24, 2011 – UPDATE 5 AM

…IRENE CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN AS IT POUNDS THE SOUTHEASTERN BAHAMAS…WILL LIKELY BECOME A MAJOR HURRICANE LATER TODAY…

SUMMARY OF 500 AM EDT…0900 UTC…INFORMATION

LOCATION…21.6N 72.9W ABOUT 370 MI…595 KM SE OF NASSAU ABOUT 955 MI…1535 KM S OF CAPE HATTERAS NORTH CAROLINA

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS…110 MPH…175 KM/H

PRESENT MOVEMENT...WNW OR 295 DEGREES AT 9 MPH…15 KM/H

MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE…962 MB…28.41 INCHES

WATCHES AND WARNINGS

CHANGES IN WATCHES AND WARNINGS WITH THIS ADVISORY…

THE TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR THE NORTH COAST OF HAITI IS DISCONTINUED.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT…

A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR…

  • TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS  
  • THE SOUTHEASTERN…CENTRAL…AND NORTHWESTERN BAHAMAS

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA…PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR NATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE.

DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK

AT 500 AM EDT…0900 UTC…THE EYE OF HURRICANE IRENE WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 21.6 NORTH…LONGITUDE 72.9 WEST.  IRENE IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 9 MPH.  A GRADUAL TURN TOWARD THE NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED ON WEDNESDAY.  ON THE FORECAST TRACK…THE CORE OF IRENE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN AND CENTRAL BAHAMAS TODAY AND OVER THE NORTHWESTERN BAHAMAS ON THURSDAY.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 110 MPH…175 KM/H…WITH HIGHER GUSTS.  IRENE IS A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE.  STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST…AND IRENE WILL LIKELY BECOME A MAJOR HURRICANE LATER TODAY.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 40 MILES…65 KM…FROM THE CENTER…AND TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 205 MILES…335 KM.

THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 962 MB…28.41 INCHES.

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND

WIND...HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE OCCURRING OVER PORTIONS OF THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS AND THE SOUTHEASTERN BAHAMAS.  TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BEGIN OVER THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS TODAY…WITH HURRICANE CONDITIONS EXPECTED TONIGHT.  TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED IN THE NORTHWESTERN BAHAMAS BY LATE TONIGHT…WITH HURRICANE CONDITIONS EXPECTED ON THURSDAY.

STORM SURGE…IN AREAS OF ONSHORE WINDS NEAR THE CENTER OF IRENE…AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS STORM SURGE WILL RAISE WATER LEVELS BY AS MUCH AS 7 TO 11 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS OVER THE CENTRAL AND NORTHWESTERN BAHAMAS…AND BY AS MUCH AS 5 TO 8 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN BAHAMAS AND THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS.  NEAR THE COAST…THE SURGE WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE AND DANGEROUS WAVES. A STORM SURGE WILL RAISE WATER LEVELS BY AS MUCH AS 2 TO 4 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS ALONG THE NORTH COAST OF HAITI.

RAINFALL...IRENE IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ACROSS PUERTO RICO AND HISPANIOLA.

ISOLATED MAXIMUM STORM TOTAL AMOUNTS OF 15 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN ASSOCIATION WITH IRENE.  THESE RAINS COULD CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUD SLIDES IN AREAS OF STEEP TERRAIN.  RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES ARE EXPECTED IN THE BAHAMAS…AND THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

RELATED POSTS:  

Status Update as of August 23, 2011 – 2 PM EDT https://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/science-a-environmental/26323-hurricane-irene-advisory-august-23-2011-2-pm-edt.html

Status Update as of August 23, 2011 – 5 PM EDT  https://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/science-a-environmental/26337-hurricane-irene-advisory-august-23-2011-5-pm-edt.html

Status Update as of August 23, 2011 – 8 PM EDT https://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/science-a-environmental/26345-hurricane-irene-advisory-august-23-2011-8-pm-edt.html

Status Update as of August 23, 2011 – 11 PM EDT https://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/science-a-environmental/26348-hurricane-irene-advisory-august-23-2011-11-pm-edt.html

Status Update as of August 24, 2011 – 2 AM EDT- https://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/science-a-environmental/26350-hurricane-irene-advisory-august-24-2011-2-am-edt.html

Status Update as of August 24, 2011 – 8 AM EDT – https://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/science-a-environmental/26352-hurricane-irene-advisory-august-24-2011-8-am-edt.html

Surface Wind Field

Click image to zoom in [Image of initial wind radii]
About this product:

This graphic shows the areas potentially being affected by the sustained winds of tropical storm force (in orange) and hurricane force (in red). The display is based on the wind radii contained in the latest Forecast/Advisory (indicated at the top of the figure). Users are reminded that the Forecast/Advisory wind radii represent the maximum possible extent of a given wind speed within particular quadrants around the tropical cyclone. As a result, not all locations falling within the orange or red shaded areas will be experiencing sustained tropical storm or hurricane force winds, respectively.

In addition to the wind field, this graphic shows an approximate representation of coastal areas under a hurricane warning (red), hurricane watch (pink), tropical storm warning (blue) and tropical storm watch (yellow). The white dot indicates the current position of the center of the tropical cyclone, and the dashed line shows the history of the center of the tropical cyclone. 


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