 DISCUSSION: As time moves forward with Hurricane Maria, there are now finally definitive signs that this storm is beginning to enter its final stage of gradual weakening. During the course of the day on Sunday (09/24), Hurricane Maria began to lose a substantial amount of deeper convection in and around the center of the core circulation. As a result of this convective drop-off, there was also a corresponding drop-off in the intensity of the sustained maximum wind speeds in and around the eye of this weakening hurricane. It has lost so much convection in and around the center of its circulation, that Hurricane Maria may in fact be able to be downgraded to a tropical storm within the next 24 to 48 hours (depending on various environmental factors and such). Furthermore, any potential impacts to coastal sections of the Mid-Atlantic will certainly be substantially mitigated by the fact that this tropical cyclone will continue to weaken as it heads further north with time due to increasing amounts of vertical wind shear. Therefore, despite this storm currently being on and likely will continue on this current weakening trend, interests along the Carolinas should still keep a watchful eye on the progress of what is now a Category 1 Hurricane Maria just in case it takes a more northwest turn over the next couple of days as it heads north.
To learn more about other high-impact weather events occurring across the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, be sure to click here! ©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz
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DISCUSSION: As the tropical Atlantic basin continues to remain a hot topic over the past couple of weeks between the landfalls of both Hurricane Harvey and more recently of Hurricane Irma, the barrage of tropical cyclone threats is certainly not showing signs of slowing down. As of this afternoon (i.e., per Atlantic Standard Time), a more recent development in the more central portion of the tropical Atlantic (i.e., Hurricane Maria) has continued to show increasing signs of better organization and positive (but concerning) structural changes. First and foremost, the core convection associated with Hurricane Maria has become much more symmetric both in and around the center of Maria's circulation. Therefore, as this increasing and deeper convection continues to become better organized with time, this is a sign that the storm is likely beginning to undergo a period of intensification.
A couple of critical questions that still remain are directly connected to what track Maria ultimately takes over the next couple of days. If Maria takes a more northerly track within what the lead forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida are anticipating as the current forecast track cone of uncertainty, then this developing tropical cyclone will predominantly evade any real land-based interaction over the next couple of days. Therefore, if there ultimately ends up being very limited land-based interaction, this will allow Maria's core circulation to remain over a large swath of more open and warmer ocean sea-surface temperatures. Furthermore, over the next couple of days, Maria will be moving through a region with little to no low/mid-level vertical wind shear. Hence, the next few days will more than likely lend for a very favorable atmospheric environment for much more further intensification of what as of 5:00 PM EDT has now been upgraded to a Category 1 Hurricane Maria. Be sure to stay tuned both right here at the Global Weather and Climate Center as well as with the National Hurricane Center for the very latest on Maria as we move forward! To learn more about other high-impact weather events occurring across the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, be sure to click here! ©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz  DISCUSSION: In light of the recent impacts from Major Hurricane Irma all the way from the central to the western Caribbean to the southeastern United States, there were some truly incredible impacts from this latest powerful tropical cyclone. Having said that, from a satellite-based perspective, there were some prolific changes which unfolded as a result of Hurricane Irma's overall track. Attached below is a neat discussion courtesy of atmospheric scientists from the NASA Earth Observatory which is quite revealing in regards to what Irma did to parts of the Caribbean.
"Hurricane Irma churned across the Atlantic Ocean in September 2017, battering several Caribbean islands before moving on to the Florida Keys and the U.S. mainland. As the clouds cleared over places like the Virgin Islands, the destruction became obvious even from space. These natural-color images, captured by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite, show some of Irma’s effect on the British and U.S. Virgin Islands. The views were acquired on August 25 and September 10, 2017, before and after the storm passed. They are among the few relatively cloud-free satellite images of the area so far. The most obvious change is the widespread browning of the landscape. There are a number of possible reasons for this. Lush green tropical vegetation can be ripped away by a storm’s strong winds, leaving the satellite with a view of more bare ground. Also, salt spray whipped up by the hurricane can coat and desiccate leaves while they are still on the trees. Irma passed the northernmost Virgin Islands on the afternoon of September 6. At the time, Irma was a category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds of 185 miles (295 kilometers) per hour. According to news reports, the islands saw “significant devastation.”" To read this article in full and to get to see more details within the various images of various islands which were impacted, click on the following link. To learn more about other high-impact weather events occurring across North America, be sure to click here! ©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz The Latest on the Future of Category 5 Hurricane Irma (credit: NWS National Hurricane Center)9/5/2017 
DISCUSSION: As more and more concerns continue to pile up for the forthcoming arrival of Hurricane Irma across the central and western Caribbean, there are still many questions to be figured out with respect to the future track of Irma. Beyond its time in the Caribbean, there is still a fairly large degree of uncertainty with respect to both where Irma will go from there and how strong Irma will be after it begins to depart the farthest parts of the western Caribbean. Having said that, attached above is a detailed (but concise) briefing on the current situation with Hurricane Irma and how things look right now. Be sure to listen to the video briefing above for the latest and also stay tuned right here at the Global Weather and Climate Center as well as on our Twitter account which can be accessed through the following link.
To learn more about other high-impact weather events occurring across the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, be sure to click here! ©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz Dangerous Cat. 4 Irma Moving Towards the Eastern Caribbean (credit: NWS National Hurricane Center)9/4/2017 
DISCUSSION: As Major Hurricane Irma continued to intensify over the past several hours, there has been an increasingly larger amount of collective hype in the media over this powerful incoming tropical cyclone. However, even though a State of Emergency has already been issued for the state of Florida as of earlier this afternoon, it is imperative to keep in mind that the future track of this large and dangerous tropical cyclone is not by any means "etched into stone yet." Therefore, please stay tuned to our website and our Twitter feed for the very latest! For additional details on the current (and future projected) status of Major Hurricane Irma, be sure to watch the brief Periscope briefing attached above.
To learn more about this and other high-impact weather events occurring across the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, be sure to click here! ©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz |
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