Good afternoon.
At 11 am Hurricane Nate was located at 26.6 N & 88.4 W and was moving NNW @26 mph with peak winds of 90 mph. Nate should make landfall tonight along the Mississippi coast. Due to its rapid northern motion its effective net shear has decreased ( upper level winds out of S at around 40 mph less forward speed of 26 = net shear <15 mph) which along with it missing the Yucatan Peninsula has lead to its strengthening. Nate may be a Cat 2 storm at landfall. Fortunately Nate is a small storm with Hurricane force winds extending only 30 miles on the east side of the storm, No hurricane force winds were found on the W side of the storm, due to shear and its rapid forward motion. This should spare New Orleans from hurricane conditions. After landfall it will move rapidly off to the N and NE and weaken quickly.
Until next time, Matt.
At 11 am Hurricane Nate was located at 26.6 N & 88.4 W and was moving NNW @26 mph with peak winds of 90 mph. Nate should make landfall tonight along the Mississippi coast. Due to its rapid northern motion its effective net shear has decreased ( upper level winds out of S at around 40 mph less forward speed of 26 = net shear <15 mph) which along with it missing the Yucatan Peninsula has lead to its strengthening. Nate may be a Cat 2 storm at landfall. Fortunately Nate is a small storm with Hurricane force winds extending only 30 miles on the east side of the storm, No hurricane force winds were found on the W side of the storm, due to shear and its rapid forward motion. This should spare New Orleans from hurricane conditions. After landfall it will move rapidly off to the N and NE and weaken quickly.
Until next time, Matt.