Maria Remains a TS, Nate is Stationary and Katia is going out to sea...

Nate is caught up temporarily in a weak steering pattern and he is stationary just off the north coast of Mexico creating flooding which may

There is a thought that Nate becomes stuck down there for days, possibly up to a week in the weakest of steering currents. Hard to believe. The only thing certain is that he is holding his own cradled in the Bay of Campeche with no rush to go in any direction anytime soon. At this rate he may be with us longer than Maria

And, as of 11pm Maria is still with us as a Tropical Storm. Despite her weak appearance watches and warnings have been posted for the various islands:

THE METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT OF CURACAO HAS ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM
WARNING FOR THE ISLANDS OF ST. MAARTIN...SABA...AND ST. EUSTATIUS.

THE GOVERNMENT OF ANTIGUA HAS ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM WATCH FOR THE
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS.

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
AND PUERTO RICO...INCLUDING VIEQUES AND CULEBRA.

Really great I might add to watch NFL Football. Nothing like being properly distracted while waiting for the new discussion to come out than watching Green Bay play New Orleans on TV.

It's easier sometimes to play Fantasy Football and predict the outcome than it is to predict storms that are either stationary like Nate or zooming through the Atlantic like Maria. Got to give the NHC credit, they are working over time for their money this year.

For now, the NHC kept Maria a Tropical Storm. Logic is below, and I agree with that logic.

"DUE TO COMMUNICATIONS PROBLEMS...THE
AIRCRAFT THAT INVESTIGATED MARIA WAS UNABLE TO TRANSMIT A FULL DATA
SET. THEREFORE...IT WAS NOT DETERMINED WITH CERTAINTY WHETHER A
WELL-DEFINED CLOSED CIRCULATION STILL EXISTED. HOWEVER...THE PLANE
MEASURED A CENTRAL PRESSURE OF 1005 MB...SHOWING THAT AT THE VERY
LEAST A LOW PRESSURE CENTER STILL EXISTED. BASED ON THIS...MARIA
IS MAINTAINED AS A TROPICAL CYCLONE. THE INITIAL INTENSITY OF
35 KT IS BASED ON THE AIRCRAFT DATA AND RECENT BUOY REPORTS."

Good Discussion on Maria, it took long enough. Not used to waiting til 11:20 before the 11Pm discussion was posted but it was worth waiting for...

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCDAT4+shtml/082051.shtml?



The new cone stays offshore Miami and South Florida, however that could change later "in the forecast period" which is my way of saying you know the drill. She is still a long, long ways away from South Florida but she is moving quickly west at 21 mph forward speed.

So, that's it. Spent the night working on a creative project while watching Green Bay play and it doesn't get better than that. Well, if the Dolphins had been on that would have been better but I'm happy the football season has started. Bring it on...

As for Maria and Nate I can only hope they avoid creating more flooding misery for the U.S. unless they can figure out a way to rain on Texas.

Sweet Tropical Dreams

Bobbi
Ps...To be fair, Maria does have more convection tonight than she has had all day. Does she have a solid center though that is the question. And, more problematic if the center fix is off...so are the models, as the saying goes garbage in ...garbage out. Let's hope we have it right!