Image Source: NASA GOES satellite
BY ZACH TOOMBS
With the east coast just beginning its recovery in the wake of Hurricane Irene, the U.S. might soon have to brace itself for round two. Tropical storm Katia is gaining steam in the Atlantic and could become officially classified as a hurricane within the next 24 hours.
“Tropical storm Katia is out there. It’s in the Atlantic Ocean, expected to strengthen up and speed up. Right now it’s too early to tell where and when Katia will make landfall.”
Katia also happens to be the name that replaced Hurricane Katrina in the National Hurricane Center’s revolving list of names.
“The list of Atlantic hurricane names is repeated every seven years and this year the list that was used in 2005 is being reused. A storm name is retired if it is used for a hurricane that caused major damage, as Katrina did in New Orleans in 2005.”
Although the storm is closer to Africa than the Americas as of Tuesday night, Katia is projected to match the strength of Hurricane Irene’s peak within the next five days.
FOX News has the details on the brewing storm.
“Conditions are very favorable for it to continue to strengthen. So, by tomorrow, it’s going to continue to strengthen with sustained winds of 45 mph moving to the west-northwest pretty quickly for a storm at this latitude - at 18 mph. So, as we head into the next several days it should become a hurricane, and then as you take a look at the end of the workweek - Friday - category two storm. And, by the end of the weekend on Sunday morning, it could be a major hurricane at category three with sustained winds of 115 mph.”
But the possibility remains that Katia might not reach the U.S. at all. CNN’s Chad Meyers weighs in with his prediction.
“There is a slight trough. Let me explain this. It’s kind of a “U” in the jet stream. And that “U” should pick Katia up and take that big right-hand turn and make what we call a “gutterball” out of the storm. Not hitting the U.S., not hitting Bermuda. Just heading up to the north Atlantic into the cold water and being a dead storm.”
Katia is still about 500 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico.
