NU Online News Service, Sept. 1, 8:44 a.m.EST
|Katia is now a Category 1 hurricane—the second of the Atlanticseason—with sustained winds near 75 mph.
|HurricaneKatia is expected to strengthen during the next 48 hours, saysthe National Hurricane Center, and it may become a major hurricane(Category 3 or greater) by the weekend but its track and potentialU.S. landfall remains uncertain.
|However, of more immediate concern is a weather system in the Gulfof Mexico that has a 60 percent chance of developing into atropical cyclone during the next 48 hours, says NHC.
|“Interests along the entire northern Gulf of Mexico shouldmonitor the progress of this disturbance,” NHC advises.
|Meteorologists say the system is currently taking on wind shear,which breaks down the tropical storm formations. But the sheercould subside today, allowing a formation.
|There are many unknowns with this weather system, says AccuWeather.com. Also, it could actually be a blessing if itbrings merely rain to drought-stricken areas of the Gulf Coast,like in Texas.
|“Since the system has not formed yet, there are a lot of'coulds' and not many 'wills' at this stage,” explains AlexSosnowski, expert senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.
|Hurricane Katia remains well to the west of the Caribbean, about1,000 miles from the Cape Verde Islands.
|Catastrophe modeler Eqecat says models are “showing someprobability that Katia could threaten the Atlantic coast nextweek.”
|Modeler Risk Management Solutions says Katia is expectedto be to the northeast of the Lesser Antilles toward the endof the weekend but it is ”too early at this time todetermine the forecast track beyond this period and to determine ifthe storm will be a threat to the Caribbean, Bermuda, or theU.S.”
|The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Augustwarned of more intense and frequent storm action and raised the number ofnamed storms it expect this year.
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