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Title: Tropical Storm Emily: Southeast Faces a Close Encounter
Source:
NOAA
URL Source: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/gra ... /145014.shtml?5-daynl#contents
Published: Aug 3, 2011
Author: NOAA
Post Date: 2011-08-03 11:30:21 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 101
Tropical Storm Emily is still on track to slam into Hispaniola tonight, then make a close encounter with the southeastern U.S. this weekend. Emily is less than 18 hours from making its first landfall in Hispaniola, creating misery and threatening lives in Haiti and neighboring Dominican Republic. After spreading heavy rain across Puerto Rico today, Emily will reach southern Hispaniola early tonight as a strong tropical storm. The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center has more information on Emily's current position, strength and movement. Any intensification Emily undergoes today will be erased by its interaction with the mountains that rise to around 10,000 feet on Hispaniola and 4,000 feet on the southeastern tip of Cuba tonight into Thursday. That mountainous terrain, however, will likely not bring about Emily's demise. Emily will instead emerge as a weakened tropical storm into the southwestern Atlantic, where it will make its closest encounter with the southeastern U.S. this weekend. The future track of Emily by the AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center takes the tropical storm across the northwestern Bahamas, then spares the Southeast coast from a direct hit. A pair of storm systems set to move eastward across the U.S. should steer Emily away from the Southeast and into the open waters of the Atlantic. Emily will likely still intensify into a hurricane as it curves and misses the U.S. If this scenario pans out, the worst of Emily's wind and rain would bypass the Southeast. The outer rain bands of Emily could still graze parts of the coastline depending on how close the storm tracks to land. "At the very least, it appears that Emily will move close enough to the U.S. to produce very dangerous surf with high wave action and a high rip current risk," stated AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Meghan Evans. Landfall on U.S. Soil Not Out of the Question Emily may be forecast to remain off the Southeast coast, but residents should not let their guard down yet. It is not out of the question that the curve Emily is supposed to make gets delayed, opening the door for the storm's heavier rain and damaging winds to strike South Florida, then continue up the Southeast coast. An outside possibility also exists that Emily keeps heading in a westward fashion, passing by South Florida and reaching the Gulf of Mexico. With the exact track of Emily for this weekend not set in stone, all residents along the Southeast coast should check back with AccuWeather.com for the latest updates.
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