Igor passes just west of Bermuda as strong winds, rain lash island
- NEW: An estimated two-thirds of Bermuda's residents have lost power
- Hurricane conditions are expected to continue on the island into Monday
- Meteorologist: "damage could be great before all is said and done"
- Igor could cause life-threatening surf and rip currents for the U.S. East Coast
Elbow Beach, Bermuda (CNN) -- The mammoth of a hurricane known as Igor has reached its closest point to Bermuda, CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras said, as winds and rain continued to pummel the island into Monday morning.
As of late Sunday night, Igor's center was about 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Bermuda and was moving north at about 14 mph (22 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. The storm was a Category 1 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph).
Igor is considered a very large hurricane, forecasters said -- hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 90 miles (150 kilometers) from the center and tropical storm-force winds outward up to 345 miles (555 kilometers).
On Sunday evening, CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf in Bermuda said the island was being battered by wind gusts and experiencing heavy surf. The airport was closed, and the capital of Hamilton was "a ghost town."
An estimated two-thirds of the island's 67,000 people had lost power, Wolf said.
Hurricane conditions are expected on the island into Monday. The potential extent of damage is unclear, but Bermuda does "an incredible job in terms of hurricane-proofing their structures," Jeras said.
But Wolf, struggling to be heard over the roaring wind, said, "no doubt, the damage could be great before all is said and done."
CNN iReporter Claire Hattie shot video of palm trees swaying in the wind from her balcony in Pembroke, Bermuda, on Sunday.
The weather is "steadily deteriorating," she said, but she is prepared.
"Most people have stayed indoors since last night," Hattie said, adding that "driving conditions are very dangerous."
"There is also some flying debris already so it's too dangerous to walk either," she said. "All of our storm shutters are secured, the cupboards are stocked with tinned and boxed food, and the baths and jugs have been filled with water. There is really nothing more we can do at this point to prepare. We just have to wait it out and hope for the best."
In order for a hurricane to make landfall, the center of its eye must come ashore, said CNN meteorologist Sean Morris.
"Bermuda could experience the strongest winds without Igor ever making landfall," Morris said.
The hurricane center did not offer an estimate for how high the storm surge is forecast to be, but said it will produce "significant coastal flooding" on Bermuda and will be accompanied by "large and destructive waves," particularly on the southern coast.
Igor is forecast to leave a total of 6 to 9 inches of rain on the island.
Meanwhile, large swells are expected to affect the East Coast of the United States through Monday and could cause "life-threatening surf and rip currents," the hurricane center said. Swells will subside over the next couple of days in locations including the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Hispaniola and portions of the Bahamas.
Igor is projected to miss the coast of the United States but could approach the tip of Newfoundland, Canada, early next week.
Farther east in the Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Julia continued spinning with considerably less intensity than Hurricane Igor. As of 10 p.m. ET Sunday, a weakened Julia was located about 1,215 miles (1,955 kilometers) west of the Azores Islands. It was headed northeast at about 13 mph (20 kph), the hurricane center said.
Julia's winds had decreased to 40 mph (65 kph), making Julia "barely a tropical storm." The hurricane center said it expects Julia to dissipate on Tuesday.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/09/20/tropical.weather/index.html?section=cnn_latest
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar