Tropical Storm Florence eyes Bermuda
Pastor Dale Morgan
Tropical Storm Florence eyes Bermuda*
POSTED: 0301 GMT (1101 HKT), September 8, 2006
MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Tropical Storm Florence held its strength in the
open Atlantic early Thursday, still far from the U.S. but large enough
that forecasters warned it could create high surf and rip-currents along
the East Coast within the next five days.
The storm's forecast path puts it over the Bermuda area Monday or
Tuesday, forecasters said.
"The concern would be Bermuda at this point, how close the destructive
force winds will move toward it," said Dave Roberts, a Navy forecaster
at the National Hurricane Center.
Florence had maximum sustained winds near 50 mph Thursday and tropical
storm force winds extending up to 405 miles from its center. Its
sustained winds were expected to strengthen Thursday and Friday and pass
the 74 mph threshold for a hurricane by the time in nears Bermuda.
At 11 p.m. ET, the storm was centered 505 miles east-northeast of the
Northern Leeward Islands, about 930 miles southeast of Bermuda and about
1,556 miles southeast of Miami. It was moving west-northwest at about 15
mph.
"People should be taking this seriously," said Lou McNally of Bermuda
Weather Service. "We don't know exactly how strong it's going to get but
this is something to which people should pay close attention.
Preparations should be well under way."
Even though the forecast shows the storm's center will likely remain off
the U.S. coast, Florence's large size means that ocean swells could
cause high surf and rip-currents from the mid-Atlantic states northward
by Tuesday, said Stacy Stewart, a senior hurricane specialist at the
hurricane center.
Florence developed in the peak of hurricane season in warm Atlantic
waters, the source of energy for storm development this time of year.
While warm enough to spur storm intensification, forecasters said those
waters are not as warm as last year's storm season, which had a record
28 named storms and 15 hurricanes, including Katrina.
The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season has not been as rough as initially
feared. The National Hurricane Center lowered its forecast in August to
between 12 and 15 named storms and seven to nine hurricanes.
Florence follows on the heels of Tropical Storm Ernesto, which was
briefly the season's first hurricane before weakening and blowing up the
East Coast last week. The storm was blamed for nine U.S. deaths, delayed
the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis and blacked out thousands of
homes and businesses from North Carolina to New York.