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As Harvey Moves Inland, A New Hurricane Is Forming Over The Atlantic

Update: According to the NHS, Atlantic Tropical Storm Irma has formed, and could be a Hurricane by Friday. With top winds of 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour, Irma formed 420 miles west of Cabo Verde moving west at 13 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in an 11 a.m. N.Y. time advisory.

According to Jeff Masters, co-founder of Weather Underground, computer forecast models disagree on its ultimate track but a U.S. strike later in September cannot be ruled out.

Irma is the ninth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which also produced Harvey that devastated southeastern Texas, including Houston, and disrupted energy facilities and supplies and destroyed crops. Irma could become a Category 1 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale by Friday and gradually get stronger through Monday.

If its current track holds, Irma would still be bearing down from the east on the Leeward and Windward Islands in the Caribbean Sea Monday

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The National Hurricane Center (NHC) will be initiating advisories at 11 AM AST, as the new area of low pressure in the eastern Atlantic Ocean will develop into Tropical Storm Irma. Tropical Storm Irma will become the 9th storm of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season as it moves towards the Gulf of Mexico region.

Per Weather Channel,

In the near-term, future Irma will bring locally heavy rain and gusty winds to the Cabo Verde Islands through Wednesday.

South Florida Weather Management District (SFWMD) reports various pathways for Irma.

 

National Weather Service (NHS) reports Global Tropics Hazards and Benefits Outlook for the next 1-2 weeks. First week, Irma is labeled as a ‘tropical cyclone formation’  heading towards Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Second week, passing inland and over Central America.

 

"There is the potential to ramp up to a powerful hurricane in the coming days," according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski.

Irma will take about a week for the system to make its trek westward across the Atlantic Ocean. Meteorologists will likely be tracking this storm through the middle of September.

"All interests in the eastern Caribbean will need to monitor the progress of this evolving tropical cyclone, especially next week," Kottlowski said.

 

"It is way too soon to say with certainty where and if this system will impact the U.S."

Meanwhile, Texas and now southwestern Louisiana are still dealing with Tropical Storm Harvey. The weather disturbance has caused a great deal of destruction and cannot afford another storm such as Irma.

Conclusion

Luckily, Irma’s models via the major weather agencies provided above show current trajectories missing the devastated region. We all know in weather forecasting just like stock market forecasting models tend to be wrong – just ask Dennis Gartman.