Leslie Likely to Miss Bermuda; Michael Poses no Threat
07-Sep-12
Tropical Storm Leslie is stationary in the central Atlantic and is forecast to re-intensify to a hurricane before passing well to the east of Bermuda on Sunday, September 9, 2012. Leslie is a large storm, with tropical storm force winds extending out up to 185 miles. However, Bermuda is expected to be on the left side of Leslie where the winds should be relatively light. The National Hurricane Center is giving Bermuda a 9% probability of experiencing winds of 50 knots (58 mph). Meanwhile, Michael became the season’s first major hurricane on September 6. Currently Michael is a Category 2 hurricane and is far out in the Atlantic, posing no threat to land.
Leslie was named over a week ago, on Thursday, August 30, and became the Atlantic season's sixth hurricane on Wednesday afternoon, September 5. Leslie has since lost some strength, and has been downgraded to a tropical storm with current maximum winds at 70 mph. However, Leslie is forecast to re-intensify to hurricane strength over the next several days.
Wind Speed Probabilities - September 7, 2012
Source: National Hurricane Center (NHC)
At 11 am AST Friday, September 7, Leslie was located at latitude 26.8N, longitude 62.2W, and was 410 miles south-southeast of Bermuda. Leslie is currently stationary, but on Saturday a slow movement to the north is expected to develop with a gradual increase in forward speed. On the forecast track, the center of Leslie should pass roughly 190 miles to the east of Bermuda on Sunday.
Elsewhere in the central Atlantic, Michael became the seventh Atlantic hurricane this season on Wednesday night, September 5. Michael also became the season's first major hurricane the next day, when maximum sustained winds reached 115 mph. At 11 am AST, Friday, September 7, the center of hurricane Michael was located at latitude 31.2N, longitude 41.1W, and was roughly 930 miles west-southwest of the Azores Islands. Maximum sustained winds were 105 mph, making Michael currently a Category 2 hurricane. The storm is expected to weaken over the next several days. Michael is moving slowly to the northwest at 3 mph, and the forecast track keeps Michael far out in the Atlantic and well away from land. This is the final update for this event.
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