Friday, September 5, 2008
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Tracking Hanna Page
Hanna Update --- Friday, September 5th @ 8:00 a.m.
Tropical Storm Hanna still looks on track to make landfall in upper South Carolina Friday evening. Top winds are fluctuating between 60 and 70 mph. It looks a little less likely that the storm will strengthen much before landfall; it's possibly it could become a minimal hurricane before reaching the coast.
As the storm passes to our east on Friday, we can expect winds to pick up and become gusty. In Chatham county, it is likely the winds will range from 15-20 mph inland to near 30 mph at the beach. Higher gusts are likely, mainly on the beaches. In Beaufort county, winds will likely range from 20-30 mph with gusts over 40 mph, especially in the northeast part of the county. Winds will be higher the further northeast one goes along the South Carolina coast. If the track of the storms shifts a little west, the above winds could be about 10 mph higher.
As far as rain goes, the quick movement of the storm and the fact we'll be on the western side of the system should cut down on rain amounts. Still, some heavy downpours are a good bet along the coast in Georgia and up through Beaufort county. No major flooding problems are expected.
As the storm moves quickly north Friday night, gusty winds and rain chances will decrease, and the weather over the weekend will feature sunshine and hotter temperatures.
As far as Hurricane Ike, it is still out over the Central Atlantic, and we have several days to watch that. It looks like it will move generally west and threaten the Bahamas this weekend, and possibly move to near south Florida early next week.
Jeff
Hanna Update -- 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
A bit of a sigh of relief today as the Coastal Empire is not in the cross hairs of the track of Hanna. Computer models have shifted significantly to the east, with landfall likely Friday evening between Charleston and Wilmington, centered on the Myrtle Beach area.
The storm is gradually getting better organized after surviving very unfavorable upper-level winds last night. Gradual strengthening is expected Thursday and the storm could become a hurricane again by the end of the day Thursday. There is still a possibility it could have enough time to become a Category 2 before landfall Friday night.
As far as effects in our area, we could see some of the western rain bands Friday afternoon into Friday night, and we should see some gusty breezes. On the current projected path of the storm towards the upper coast of South Carolina, rain amounts here would not be excessive and gusty winds should not be strong enough to cause significant damage. Also, we will be on the "friendlier" left side of the storm where you don't have to worry about tornadoes or storm surge, the rise of water coming off the ocean.
While the outlook has improved a lot in the last 24 hours, we will continue to monitor the situation as any adjustments in track further west could bring more rain and wind into our area.
Elsewhere in the tropics, Hurricane Ike is located to the east-northeast of the Lesser Antilles. This storm could eventually affect areas of the Bahamas, Cuba and possibly south Florida early next week.
Jeff
Hanna UPDATE: 10:45 a.m.
It looks Hanna may just miss us here in the Coastal Empire and Low Country. The steering flow that has been moving Hanna southeast the last 24 hours is now beginning to weaken. A ridge of high pressure will build north of Hanna causing the storm to turn more northward. Hanna will start moving to the northwest later today. On this track, Hanna will make landfall somewhere in the southeast. The latest track by The National Hurricane Center takes Hanna just north of Charleston, SC on Friday evening.
Click here to view the track from the Hurricane Center.
The computer models are indicating a more northward landfall than projected earlier in the week. Some models now show landfall as far north as North Carolina. With this track, Savannah still could experience tropical storm conditions on Friday.
In the last 24 hours, Hanna has experienced a lot of wind shear. The higher the wind shear, the more likely it is for a tropical system to weaken. As of this morning, however, the wind shear has started to relax. I believe later today the deep thunderstorms will begin to again wrap around the center of the storm. This will allow Hanna to strengthen back to a hurricane sometime soon. The models are forecasting the wind shear to be 10 to 20 knots until landfall. This would mean that Hanna shouldn't’t strengthen more than a category one hurricane.
On a side note, there are currently four named tropical systems. The last time there were four tropical systems at the same time was August 1999.
Keep watching The Coastal Source for the latest on Hanna. There may be hurricane watches posted later today.
Jonathan
Wednesday, September 3rd , 2008 --- 9:00 a.m --- Tropical Storm Hanna Update
At 8:00 am, Tropical Storm Hanna was located near Latitude 20.3 North, Longitude 71.8
West or about 820 nautical miles southeast of Chatham County and still continues to
move at a speed of 5 mph.
Tropical Storm Hanna made little progress towards the north but is expected to begin
moving northwest later today. Hanna has been moving eastward at about 5 mph and
will continue this path over the next few hours. It is expected to make a gradual turn
toward the northwest later today with an increase in forward speed to occur on
Thursday.
Due to its slow course of movement, forecast models have not been able to narrow the
potential impact area but models are showing a gradual turn toward the South Carolina
coastline. The Chatham County area is still considered to be in a potentially affected
area by Hanna and it is suggested that all residents continue to monitor the storm on The Coastal Source for the latest images and storm tracking.
We will continue to update you as more information comes in.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008 11:00 pm
Hanna has weakened back to a tropical storm due to strong wind shear. The wind shear is expected to relax on Wednesday, allowing the storm to begin to strengthen again. From that point, it is possible the storm could gradually strengthen all the way to a landfall on the Southeast coast later Friday. It is conceivable the storm could reach Category 2 status before landfall. How much the storm strengthens will be determined by how quickly it can recover from the onslaught of wind shear it has seen this Tuesday night.
Hanna remains nearly stationary, meandering and making loops just north of Haiti. All computer models forecast the storm to begin moving towards the north and northwest Wednesday and Thursday, and begin to move at a faster pace. The pace of movement shown on the models would have the storm making landfall somewhere around Friday evening. Right now, it appears the most likely place for landfall would be from the Georgia coast to the border of North and South Carolina. I think as the storm actually begins moving, we'll be able to gradually narrow down the area most likely to receive the direct impact from the storm.
Everyone from the Georgia coast up through the South Carolina coast should continue to monitor the situation closely and have an evacuation plan ready. It's possible you and your family may need to enact that plan in the next 24 to 48 hours, so now is the time to consider what to take with you and where you would go if you haven't already.
Jeff
Copyright 2008 by WJCL 22/ABC and WTGS/FOX 28
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