Tropical Storm Sandy

As I eluded to last week, I was concerned about the possibility of the tropics in the Gulf/Caribbean region heating back up. Earlier today, a tropical depression officially formed in the southern Caribbean Sea. That depression is now a Tropical Storm, Sandy, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.

As of 5pm EDT, hurricane hunters located a circulation with a minimum pressure of 998 mb (29.47") about 385 miles SSW of Kingston, Jamaica. The movement is nearly stationary; however, it is expected to begin to slowly drift northward over the next 48 hours. As we head into late week, a strong cold front will be dropping southeast out of the center of the nation and this will aid in deflecting/pushing Sandy northeast-east with an expected track that would take the center of circulation over Jamaica, eastern Cuba and into the Bahamas.


Regarding strength, I anticipate that Sandy will slowly increase intensity and by the time it reaches the Jamaica would likely be a strong tropical storm. Crossing the island and then crossing Cuba will weaken her some but still remaining a tropical storm. Sandy will likely try to regain strength as it moves into the Bahamas.

Folks living in Florida still need to stay weather aware. If the approaching front slows it actually could help direct Sandy more northward and towards the Floridian peninsula.