Hurricane Helene is set to become a very dangerous category 4 storm as it approaches the Florida coast Thursday afternoon and evening, according to latest forecasts from the National Hurricane Center. As of 5PM Wednesday, the storm is a category 1 hurricane with sustained winds up to 85 mph.
Tropical Storm and Hurricane Warnings cover almost the entire coastline of Florida, even though the forecast cone is very narrow between Panama City and Tallahassee. Why is this the case? The cone is merely the uncertainty between which forecasters believe the center of the storm will pass. It is very important to note that the storm is much, much larger than the cone and tropical storm or hurricane impacts will be felt well beyond the center line of the storm.
Helene may produce tropical storm force winds well inland toward Georgia and South Carolina as it gets pulled into a parent cutoff low developing in the lower Ohio River Valley. This will wrap the moisture from the tropical system into the parent low and northward our direction closer to the weekend. How much of that moisture reaches us in the Stateline is still in question, with lots of dry air to the North limiting just how far the abundant tropical moisture lifts.
Clouds blowing off the remnant tropical system will arrive starting Thursday night, keeping overnight lows a bit warmer compared to Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Our best chances for any rain from the tropical system would arrive Saturday into Sunday, with only slim chances this far North. Portions of Southern Illinois may see multiple inches of rainfall, so it goes to show how drastic the cutoff from very heavy rainfall to the South to almost nothing North.
No comments:
Post a Comment