Paula Does the Beach at Varadero in Cuba.. Shoots the Straits of Florida

Tropical Storm Paula is moving along the coast of Cuba tonight, tracing the coastline... her weather over the warm water of the Florida Straits while her windy weather is affecting the island itself. This is not a strong, well organized Tropical Storm. She has taken the northern edge of the forecast package and moved faster than expected. A few days ago the NHC was putting out a package insisting she would make circles in the Caribbean and/or stall out in weak steering conditions. Surprise..she didn't stall, she moved slow and steady and felt the tug of the very strong Cold Front pushing down into the South.

This is one of those situations where you look at the Sats and wonder how she can be over Cuba when it is clear her weather area is just south of Florida almost touching Florida and barely over Cuba. Hey..it happens. We lucked out..that's the truth as Paula is another weak storm barely holding to Tropical Storm intensity wandering about barely affecting the United States. Much like Bonnie that I chased earlier this summer as it was moving into Dade County with weather much stronger than Paula.

Good loop to see how this is playing out:
http://weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_wv_east_loop-12.html

Note the moisture from the storm is riding along the north coast of Cuba and/or shooting the Straits of Florida as I said a few days ago. The circulation center is to the south of that weather mass tho it looks pretty messy and weak to me.

Official explanation from the NHC if you don't like mine ;)

"center of Paula moved over Cuba near Puerto Esperanza around
noon today and produced a wind gust from the north of 68 mph...110
km/hr...at the weather station in La Palma. Since then...the center
has continued to become gradually separated from the deep
convection which is to the north over the Florida Straits."

Now...it is possible her "circulation center" makes it back into the Caribbean while her tropical outfit goes to some thrift shop in Little Haiti in North Miami and her naked swirl ..swirls around in the Caribbean hoping to attract some new colored convection and well that is a real long shot scenario...but time will tell.

As for me... going to bed... going to dream of bigger storms that go whoosh in the night and are wet and windy and make palm trees bend in the tropical night.

Sweet Tropical Dreams.. Bobbi

Ps...if you can't sleep...read up on the beautiful Varadero Beach, a beach I long to walk on one day... after Fidel goes whoosh in the tropical night. Paula did the beach at Varadero so far... good taste in beaches it seems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varadero