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Tag: Hurricane Amanda

  • Hurricane Amanda Grows Strong, Then Quickly Weakens

    Hurricane Amanda broke records over the weekend and briefly caused concern. Now it appears that the storm will pose little threat to anybody.

    The Weather Channel reports that Hurricane Amanda quickly became the strongest eastern Pacific hurricane for the month of May when it became a category 4 storm on Sunday morning. Those measuring the storm found that its winds reached 155 mph. The last storm of this magnitude was previous record holder Hurricane Adolph in 2001. Its wind speed, however, only reached 145 mph.

    While Amanda may have broken a record, meteorologists find no reason to be concerned. The storm formed Thursday afternoon and has been slowly making its way north-northwest towards Mexico and the Southwestern U.S. It hit a record high on Sunday, but is now quickly weakening as it makes its way to land. Meteorologists expect it to weaken to a tropical depression later this week. As such, it will pose no threat to the mainland.

    That being said, some parts of America may feel the remnants of Amanda later in the week. The Desert Southwest and the Rockies may get a bit of moisture if Amanda doesn’t completely vanish before it reaches land.

    It may not pose a threat, but it’s still an impressive storm. Check out some satellite imagery from NOAA below:

    Hurricane Amanda Grows Strong And Then Quickly Weakens

    Hurricane Amanda Grows Strong and Then Quickly Weakens

    You can see the storm in action below:

    Image via NOAA

  • Hurricane Amanda Threatening The Pacific Coast?

    What began as the first tropical storm of the Pacific hurricane season has since been upgraded to a category-4 hurricane.

    Hurricane Amanda has grown into the most powerful May hurricane in modern history. The monstrous weather phenomenon is reported to have sustained winds of over 150 mph.

    It’s quite clear that this hurricane could truly do a great deal of damage if it came ashore with that amount of power.

    For now weather experts are cautiously optimistic that the brunt of Amanda’s force will not affect residents in Mexico and Baja California.

    There is still a chance the hurricane can cause trouble in other ways.

    Mexico’s National Meteorological Service believes that Hurricane Amanda will bring heavy rains to western and central Mexico. This could mean the region may see major flooding.

    At present, the main body of Amanda is about 740 miles south of the southern tip of Baja California.

    Despite featuring as May’s strongest hurricane, some meteorologists are claiming that there’s evidence that the thunderstorms near the eye of Amanda are weakening.

    If Pacific coast residents are lucky, there’s a chance that Hurricane Amanda will not even be a tropical cyclone by the time it closes in on Mexico.

    The hurricane season for the eastern Pacific typically runs from May until November.

    Though the threat of Amanda seems overblown, the fact that the first major hurricane of the season is so powerful may mean that there’s even worse weather monsters on the way.

    As for the eastern United States, it will cope with hurricanes like Amanda during a window that spans from June until November.

    If you happen to live in a region of the US that is often impacted by hurricanes, it may be a good idea to make sure you “hurricane proof” your home as much as possible and keep abreast of the weather news.

    Image via YouTube

  • Tropical Storm Amanda Turns Into Hurricane Amanda, Kicks Off 2014 Hurricane Season

    Tropical Storm Amanda is now officially Hurricane Amanda, the first hurricane of the 2014 pacific season.

    The National Hurricane Center released this bulletin giving the latest updates of Amanda:

    AT 800 AM PDT…1500 UTC…THE EYE OF HURRICANE AMANDA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 11.4 NORTH…LONGITUDE 109.9 WEST. AMANDA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 5 MPH…7 KM/H. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTHWEST WITH A SLIGHT DECREASE IN FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED BY EARLY SUNDAY…FOLLOWED BY A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH BY EARLY MONDAY.

    AMANDA IS STRENGTHENING RAPIDLY…AND MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 75 MPH…120 KM/H…WITH HIGHER GUSTS. CONTINUED RAPID STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE…AND AMANDA COULD BECOME A MAJOR HURRICANE BY SUNDAY.

    HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 25 MILES…35 KM…FROM THE CENTER…AND TROPICAL STORM-FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 70 MILES…110 KM.

    THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 989 MB…29.21 INCHES.

    But before you panic, you should read the last part:

    HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
    ———————-
    NONE

    This storm however, has been full of surprises. Amanda began as a tropical depression and was upgraded to a tropical storm a few days ago. At first, it was expected that Amanda wouldn’t make it to hurricane status.

    But more likely than not Amanda will be gone and forgotten within 48 hours. “Amanda is forecast to continue strengthening rapidly, potentially reaching the threshold for major hurricane in about 24-36 hours. After 48 hours, southerly vertical shear is expected to increase, which is likely to cause Amanda’s low- and mid-level circulations to decouple,” The National Hurricane Center stated, “Therefore, fast weakening is indicated toward the end of the forecast period. The updated NHC forecast is higher than the previous one during the first 48 hours to account for the high likelihood of continued rapid intensification, but it is largely unchanged thereafter.”

    Image via Central Pacific Hurricane Center.