Puerto Rico, USVI prepare for weakening Hurricane Danny

[Peter1469]

Hurricane Danny is approaching Puerto Rico but is not expected to help the drought conditions in the northern Caribbean. The US mainland has not seen a major hurricane in some time. And this hurricane season looks like it will be inactive.


SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A weakening Hurricane Danny approached Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Saturday, but was expected to bring little relief to residents of the drought-stricken northern Caribbean.The Category 1 hurricane was located 570 miles (915 kilometers) east of the Leeward Islands late Saturday afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph). It was traveling west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph).
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said it expected Danny to turn toward the west later Saturday and weaken further. Forecasters said it likely would be downgraded to a tropical storm before reaching the Leeward Islands late Sunday or early Monday.
Danny was expected to pass over Antigua and Barbuda early Monday and reach the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico early Tuesday.
Meteorologists said it was too early to predict how much rainfall Danny would generate over Puerto Rico, which has implemented extreme water-rationing measures since May as it struggles with one of the worst droughts in its history.

[Peter1469]

Here is the storm track. (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT04/refresh/AL0415W5_NL+gif/084450W5_NL_sm.gif)

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT04/refresh/AL0415W5_NL+gif/084450W5_NL_sm.gif

[Peter1469]

Hurricane Danny is getting beat (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2015/0822/Hurricane-Danny-fizzles-Why-are-there-fewer-big-hurricanes)up by a strong El-Nino. This has been keeping big storms away from the US mainland.


Save for hurricane-turned-cyclone Sandy in 2012, the US mainland has been spared any major hurricane destruction since a spate of big storms, including hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Dennis, struck the Gulf Coast in the mid-2000s. Indeed, a 9-year “drought” in Category 3 or greater storms that reach land is unmatched by any stretch since at least 1850, according to a 2015 NASA study.

That’s not to say it’s been a dull season so far. Already, two big tropical storms – Ana and Bill – have struck the US mainland. (Ana hit South Carolina; Bill struck Texas).


But as for storms building enough brawn to be a real threat, not so much.


Unusually high atmospheric wind shear caused by a historic El Nino event in the Pacific, cooler than normal Atlantic water temperatures, air pressure differentials between the Atlantic and the East Pacific, and even dust from Saharan sand storms all play into dynamics that affect the easterly African weather waves that sometimes curl into Atlantic hurricanes.

[PolWatch]

There is another system lined up behind Danny but its not expected to grow. We are expecting a cold front (!) coming through the state....all the way to the Gulf Coast! 60's at night! Low humidity! Good for us....bad for 'caines!

[Peter1469]

There is another system lined up behind Danny but its not expected to grow. We are expecting a cold front (!) coming through the state....all the way to the Gulf Coast! 60's at night! Low humidity! Good for us....bad for 'caines!

The weather is really nice here. High 80s during the day, low humidity, and high 60s at night.