Tracking The Tropics: Hurricane Irene Regains Cat. 2 Strength as Bahamas Battering Nears

Hurricane Irene has regained its Category 2 storm status on the Saffir-Simpson scale as of 2AM EST Wednesday. There is still significant concern for the East coast of the United States to be impacted significantly by Irene later this week and well into the upcoming weekend. Today, Irene impacts the Bahamas. 

Here's the latest on Hurricane Irene as of 2AM EST Wednesday morning, which has brought Irene's track further West:

Hurricane Irene: 2AM EST Update

Top Winds: 100 mph

Minimum Central Pressure: 966mb

Moving WNW @ 9 mph

Located ~400mi SE Nassau, Bahamas; 
~975mi S Cape Hatteras, NC

Irene is now headed towards prime waters for strengthening. Expect Irene to rapidly begin to restrengthen today and tomorrow. 

Current watches and warnings include:

A Hurricane Warning for Turks and Caicos Islands and the Southeastern, Central and Northwestern Bahamas.

A Tropical Storm Warning in effect for the North Coast of Haiti.

Hurricane force winds still only stretch outward for 40 miles, but Tropical Storm Force winds extend to around 205 miles from the storm's center. 

Irene is forecast to become a Category 3 storm. Portions of South Carolina and North Carolina will start to see increased surf and dangerous rip currents from Irene. The center of Irene is forecast to now be over Cape Hatteras, North Carolina by Saturday evening.

Tracking the Tropics: Hurricane Irene Dips to Cat. 1, But Will Restrengthen

Hurricane Irene, once a category two hurricane, has temporarily weakened slightly to a category one storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. There is concern for the East coast of the United States to be impacted significantly by Irene later this week and well into the upcoming weekend. 

Here's the latest on Hurricane Irene as of 5PM EST this evening:

Hurricane Irene: 5PM EST Update

Top Winds: 90 mph

Minimum Central Pressure: 976mb

Moving WNW @ 9 mph

Located ~50 mi SSW Grand Turk Island

There was some SSW wind shear which allowed Irene to weaken just a bit today. That being said, the downgrade to a Category 1 Hurricane this evening is no surprise. However, Irene is headed towards prime waters for strengthening. So, expect Irene to rapidly begin to restrengthen over the next 48 hours. 

Current watches and warnings include:

A Hurricane Warning for Turks and Caicos Islands and the Southeastern, Central and Northwestern Bahamas.

A Tropical Storm Warning in effect for the North Coast of Haiti.

Hurricane force winds only stretch outward for 40 miles, but Tropical Storm Force winds extend to around 205 miles from the storm's center. 

Irene is forecast to become a Category 3 storm as early as Thursday morning. Portions of South Carolina and North Carolina will start to see increased surf and dangerous rip currents pick up over the next couple of days. The center of Irene is forecast to be just offshore the North Carolina coast by Saturday afternoon.

NOAA Says 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season is Far From Over

Current Atlantic Tropical Activity. (Remnants of TS Emily)

Just before the beginning of every hurricane season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, issues its hurricane outlook, a prediction of the number tropical cyclones in a given season. The typical Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. In a report released yesterday, the administration has updated its initial predictions for the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane season, as it typically does every August.

The agency says that the Atlantic now features perfect hurricane forming conditions from August through October and that storms will most likely be more stronger as the 2011 Hurricane Season goes on. NOAA is also more confident now than at the beginning of the season that this year will be an above average year in terms of tropical cyclone activity.

Here are the updated projections for the entire season (June 1 - Nov. 30) directly from NOAA:

A total of:

14 to 19 named storms (currently at five)

7 to 10 hurricanes 

3 to 5 major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher)

Time to wait and see if updated NOAA's predictions come true. While I agree it will be an active rest of the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane season, I will not be making any predictions of how many storms there will be! Way to tough to predict something like that, but I will, of course, keep you informed of the latest storms that develop!