2 New Storms: Nat & Maria Join Katia In the Tropics

Nate is the circle that says 70% as the NHC has been slow to update their graphics, they've been busy... it will all get up there soon.



Oddly the only one that is close enough to cause trouble to land is the very unimpressive Nate who is hovering just offshore the Yucatan. So, since cities there may be affected I'll deal with Nate first. www.skeetobiteweather.com did a great job putting together the up closer and personal track map that is posted above. Kudos, really...they are marvelous!

A slow mover, lots of rain and a strong signature on the "juice loop" despite a poor presentation on satellite imagery. Most likely will move north. Not north enough to put out the fires in Texas but north just the same. Maybe one big group prayer here? So far, looks to go north and then curve off to the west towards Mexico. That could change as it's just formed, but I think the pattern is pretty set.

http://tropic.ssec.wisc.edu/real-time/mimic-tpw/natl/anim/latest72hrs.gif



Maria was given her name earlier today at 11. She's a nice storm to look at and developing carefully and most likely going to follow Katia and Irene out to sea. Might make a run for the islands and make a few people in Miami and the Bahamas nervous but they seem pretty set on her making the turn. She is a fast mover.

LOCATION...13.2N 44.2W
ABOUT 1205 MI...1935 KM E OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...50 MPH...85 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...W OR 275 DEGREES AT 23 MPH...37 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1002 MB...29.59 INCHES

That is indeed what we call racing through the tropics. Such a fast moving storm might take a little longer to make a turn and she could get further west than expected but those questions won't be answered just yet. For now they have her recurving out to sea. Let's see.. at this point she make overtake Katia who is moving ever so slowly in the Atlantic. To me Katia looks like she is moving slower than 10 mph and I figure they are hoping she will move 10 mph. My question with Katia would be why is she moving so slowly out to sea....



The models for Maria:



Katia meanwhile looks to be spinning about in the Atlantic barely moving.

You be the judge:

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/east/watl/flash-avn.html

I don't know, she looks like she is barely moving, just spinning on her own axis but the forecast is all about forecasted movement and she is forecast to grab her ride out of town soon. Time will tell. Puzzles me that she just sits there and everyone ignores it but well, the models show her moving away....




Well, it's a complicated busy picture out there. If you like to take your sailboat out on trips you might want to avoid these areas:



That's a lot of watery real estate on that map.



Elsewhere, there is a system that lies between Katia and Maria that is being watched. The moisture from that area is being tapped by Katia currently and she has sucked the energy out of it but it's possible it could develop. If so and if not it make you wonder if there could be some interaction between the three systems that the models are not taking into consideration. One... Katia is barely moving, Maria is racing and Nate is just feeling his groove.

Busy night for the guys at the NHC. No games tonight for those boys, they've got a lot of forecasting to do.

As for me...I'm watching. Making Maple Flavored Acorn Squash for dinner with Indian something over pink rice and just sitting here watching the tropics spin.

So much out there...and thankfully not that much headed towards a date with destiny as much as swimming with the mermaids and the fishies.

How much longer can our luck last in such a busy hurricane season. The NE is still cleaning up, Lee is still causing storms across the East Coast as his energy is everywhere like some homeopathic storm remedy and parts of him are falling all over the place. Irene left behind a bill of 1.5 Billion dollars and counting.

Sit a spell and watch the tropics spin with all those storms safely far away from us and only Nate causing some problems Mexico.

"THE GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO HAS ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR THE
COAST OF MEXICO FROM CHILITEPEC TO CELESTUN"

If I could make it rain in Texas I would, if I could, if I only could but the dry air that is causing the problem is keeping the hurricanes away...for now.

Sweet Tropical Dreams,

Bobbi