jjcollins
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 26, 1999
- Messages
- 1,394
Hurricane Isabel intensified Thursday to become an extremely powerful Category 5 storm as it rolled westward in its course across the Atlantic.
Isabels maximum wind speeds began the day at 145 mph, but by 5 p.m. it had grown to 160 mph with higher gusts. A hurricane becomes a Category 5, the top of the scale, if its winds reach 156 mph.
The storm did not threaten land Thursday. The five-day forecast places it roughly 550 miles east of Miami and closing in on the Bahamas, should it maintain its westward course. Forecasters said they would know more about the potential direction of the storm late this weekend.
The big question continues to be what will happen beyond the five-day forecast period, hurricane forecaster Richard Pasch said in an advisory. It is still impossible to state with any confidence whether a specific area along the U.S. coast will be impacted by Isabel.
Wind speeds were forecast to fluctuate over the next five days, but warm ocean temperatures and other conditions have allowed it to consistently intensify, forecasters said.
The last hurricane to develop into a Category 5 in the Atlantic was Mitch in 1998, which moved into the Caribbean Sea and eventually killed about 11,000 and left thousands more missing in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala.
The last two Category 5 hurricanes to strike the U.S. coast were Andrew in 1992 and Camille in 1969.
jj.........
Isabels maximum wind speeds began the day at 145 mph, but by 5 p.m. it had grown to 160 mph with higher gusts. A hurricane becomes a Category 5, the top of the scale, if its winds reach 156 mph.
The storm did not threaten land Thursday. The five-day forecast places it roughly 550 miles east of Miami and closing in on the Bahamas, should it maintain its westward course. Forecasters said they would know more about the potential direction of the storm late this weekend.
The big question continues to be what will happen beyond the five-day forecast period, hurricane forecaster Richard Pasch said in an advisory. It is still impossible to state with any confidence whether a specific area along the U.S. coast will be impacted by Isabel.
Wind speeds were forecast to fluctuate over the next five days, but warm ocean temperatures and other conditions have allowed it to consistently intensify, forecasters said.
The last hurricane to develop into a Category 5 in the Atlantic was Mitch in 1998, which moved into the Caribbean Sea and eventually killed about 11,000 and left thousands more missing in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala.
The last two Category 5 hurricanes to strike the U.S. coast were Andrew in 1992 and Camille in 1969.
jj.........
