Tropic Thunder!

With the lack of exciting weather in our region I thought I’d bring you up to speed on what’s happening in the tropics. First we’ll start with Danielle. As I write this Danielle is still a category 1 hurricane sending large waves toward Newfoundland. That’s about all she’ll be able to do though as, luckily for folks living in the Maritimes, Danielle never amounted to more than a “fish storm” (a storm that affects only fish…and boats I guess). Earl…well Earl is a different story. Earl is now a category 3 storm grazing by the Lesser Antilles with winds in excess of 200 km/h. Luckily for those living in the Dominican Republic, and even luckier for those living in Haiti (many still in tents), Earl should turn north just before Puerto Rico and is currently dropping a serious amount of rain on residents there. Earl will steer north along the western edge of the “Bermuda High” and intensify to a powerful category 4 storm as it enters the warm Gulf Stream current. Earl will then push north along the east coast of the U.S. and will likely stay offshore until just north of Virginia. This will still mean powerful waves and deadly riptides along the shores from Florida extending to the Carolinas…not good. The current track shows potential landfall from the northern tier of Virginia through to the Maritimes with a possible direct hit on Nova Scotia as a category 1 hurricane by Saturday…also not good. So I’ll be keeping you updated on Earl as the week progresses and I’ve posted his latest track above. Lastly there is another storm developing out in the Atlantic that the NOAA is 90% sure will develop into a tropical storm. It is still way too early for a track on this one but I’ll keep an eye on it. Although warm, things are at least quiet in the Kawarthas. As for the tropics…well, quiet isn’t the first word that comes to mind. The Atlantic hurricane season is really starting to heat up.