Hurricane Irma path: Could Hurricane Irma become the next Hurricane Harvey?

Hurricane Irma path: Could Hurricane Irma become the next Hurricane Harvey?
Fecha de publicación: 
31 August 2017
0
Imagen principal: 

After Hurricane Harvey killed at least 35 people in the USA, Hurricane Irma has turned into a hurricane over the Atlantic. But could Irma be as devastating as Harvey?

With the Gulf Coast still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma has now formed over the south-central Atlantic Ocean.

At 10 CDT, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced that Irma had become a category 2 hurricane about 650 miles (1,050 km) west of the Cabo Verde Islands.

The latest update confirmed that Irma is forecast to become a "extremely dangerous" category 4 east of the Leeward Islands in the West Indies next week.  

Irma is moving toward the west-northwest at nearly 10 mph (17 km/h) but will turn westward on Saturday. 

The NHC said a ridge over the central Atlantic Ocean force Irma to turn west-southwestward early next week. 

It added: “Guidance continues to trend southward, following the trend of the ECMWF model starting yesterday.  

“Given the strength of the ridge and depth of the tropical cyclone, there are no obvious reasons to discount the anomalous west-southwestward motion seen in most of the guidance.”

Will Hurricane Irma become the next Hurricane Harvey?

Although Hurricane Irma is heading towards the Carribean, many American flood victims fear that it could hit the Gulf Coast. 

It comes after Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas and Louisiana, leaving Houston and other areas near the coast underwater. 

The NHC has said that Irma is heading towards the Leeward Islands, which are currently about 1,845 miles (2,975km) west of the hurricane. 

Meteorologist Danielle Banks, of The Weather Channel, has said: “Keep in mind that it is way to soon to say if its going to impact the , and where it will head.”

“We’re gonna be way past Labour Day before it treks across the Atlantic Ocean but you can see we need to monitor this for sections of Leeward Islands and also northeastern Caribbean.”

Expert Dan Kottlowski, an AccuWeather hurricane expert, also thinks that Irma is likely to intensify.


Next 10-days, Tropical Storm Irma will likely become an intense hurricane, category 4 or 5 and near Leeward Islands

Ryan Maue, Hurricane expert


"There is the potential to ramp up to a powerful hurricane in the coming days," he said.

Meanwhile atmospheric and climate scientist Ryan Maue is predicting that Irma could develop into a category 4 hurricane – the same strength as Harvey when it hit Texas.

“Tropical Storm Irma organising very quickly in far Atlantic. Will head west. But at least 8+ days before earliest potential US threat,” he tweeted.

“Next 10-days, Tropical Storm Irma will likely become an intense hurricane, category 4 or 5 and near Leeward Islands.”

HURRICANE IRMA PATH MAPPED: WHERE IS THE STORM NOW?

Will Hurricane Irma make landfall?

Irma is currently headed towards the Caribbean, but it will take about a week before it reaches land.

Right now there is no immediate threat to land, but the storm’s most likely point of landfall could fall somewhere near the Cabo Verde islands.

The Cabo Verde is a tropical archipelago of 10 volcanic islands on the eastern edge of the Caribbean.

Other forecasts also suggest that the front could land on the Lesser Antilles around the Leeward Islands.

"All interests in the eastern Caribbean will need to monitor the progress of this evolving tropical cyclone, especially next week," said Mr Kottlowski.

"It is way too soon to say with certainty where and if this system will impact the US.”




Add new comment

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.