Category 4 Hurricane MATTHEW May Slam Into Miami, Florida October 7, 2016

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016, WEDNESDAY 

There is a strong likelihood that a category 4 (or 5) hurricane Matthew may hit Florida at Miami on October 7, 2016.

The future tropical cyclone has already formed off the coast of Guyana in the Atlantic Ocean. National Atmospheric and Oceanograhic Administration (NOAA) has started tracking the system. It calls it Invest 97L.

Matthew is going to be a slow moving system. Initially it will hug the South American coast and move along. Heavy rains are likely in the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Grenada, Netherlands Antilles and Aruba in the next few days.

97L will remain a depression till it moves past Aruba on September 30-October 1. Once in the Caribbean Sea it will swing north and start intensifying into a tropical storm. Jamaica will be hit on October 4, 2016, Cuba on October 5, 2016 with winds of 140-160 km/h.

Then on October 6 after hurricane Matthew passes Cuba that it will rapidly intensify into a category 4/5 monster. It is possible that when it hits Florida at Miami wind speeds may well exceed 230 km/h with a central minimum pressure of 938 hPa. Gaston which is the strongest storm recorded in the Atlantic this season was a mere child in comparison.

Another Little Storm COLIN, Will Hit USA, Florida This Time

JUNE 6, 2016

Menacing clouds gather over Florida as Colin approaches. (Image credit:ABC)

After Bonnie, another tropical storm will drench the US east coast. Tropical storm Colin has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and it threatens Florida in next 20 hours.

This storm is small. It's central minimum pressure is 1008. Though by the time it hits the Florida coast by 0000 hours GMT Tuesday it will have dropped to 998 hPa.

The National Hurricane Center estimates its winds to be 65 km/h. By landfall it might rise to 70-80 km/h.

Colin is going to bring heavy rains to Florida. Significant precipitation is also expected in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina under the influence of this storm.

Colin is going to be fast moving. By Wednesday it will be in the Atlantic Ocean. It will then turn into a mid latitude tropical cyclone as it moves away into the ocean.

Monsoon to be active soon

Tropical storm Colin will bring heaviest rainfall to northern Florida.

Hurricane JOAQUIN May Not Hit US: Latest Updates

Hurricane Joaquín  is giving authorities in many countries nightmares. It has already turned into a category 2 storm with winds in excess of 175 km/h and is likely to intensify even more.

It has already started battering central Bahamas as it inches closer. Friday will be the worst for that country as the fury of nature will stand atop the islands before moving into the Atlantic Ocean.

US authorities are already on high alert as most forecast models say the system will make landfall into the eastern seaboard just near New York on October 6, 2015. And another worrying aspect is that many weather experts say Joaquín could well turn into a category 5 howling monster.

The imagination boggles.

But one forecast model is going against the herd of computer models.

The European ECMWF in its latest data predicts the hurricane is not going to make landfall into the USA ( Or  Canada) but will move away harmlessly into the North Atlantic.

It will gives the creeps to the busy shipping lanes from Europe to North America but the USA will remain safe.

The ECMWF model has been uncannily accurate as compared to other forecast models, especially NOAA's GFS.

Time will tell.

Hurricane Joaquin satellite image . 0715 GMT, October 1, 2015

The Atlantic: Hurricane EDOUARD Will Weaken and peter out in a day or two

Satellite image of Hurricane EDOUARD taken at 0300 Hrs, September 17, 2014

Meanwhile the Atlantic Ocean has been relatively peaceful this year. Unlike other years it is not hurtling monsters like Katrina.

Right now Hurricane Edouard is pottering around in mid-Atlantic. Causing nuisance only to the shipping lanes. But is expected to die down in a day or two.

No new tropical storm are likely in the Atlantic Ocean in the next few days.

The journey of Hurricane Edouard (Courtesy: Hamweather.com)