Laura in the Far North Atlantic

Laura became a tropical cyclone this afternoon, but has since weakened. As of 11pm, the center of Tropical Storm Laura was located about 330 miles southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland. The storm has winds of 50 mph, and a pressure of 1000 millibars. Laura is moving north-northeastward at 16 mph. Laura will merge with a cold front and upper level low pressure system and bring rain to the British Isles towards Ireland. It will approach these areas this weekend.

Overnight Rain

We will see the chance of some showers overnight and for your Tuesday, as a cold front will come through the area. With this cold front will come some much colder air for tomorrow night and the rest of the week.

Meanwhile, in other news, Subtropical Storm Laura remains at 60 mph. The storm has about 18 more hours before it moves into much colder waters, and will eventually become a large extratropical system and head toward Great Britain and Ireland late this week.

Now We Have Laura

Now that Kyle is history, the next storm is already here. Laura formed this morning, but is a subtropical storm, not entirely tropical yet. Laura has a very large wind field and is located in the far northern Atlantic Ocean, therefore it is a subtropical system. However, there is more thunderstorm activity wrapping around the center of the storm, so it could become a tropical cyclone later today.

The center of Subtropical Storm Laura, as of 11 am, was located 695 miles south-southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland. The storm has winds of 60 mph, and has a pressure of 995 millibars. I will have the next update after 5 pm.

Patchy Fog Possible

As skies clear overnight, the threat of some patchy fog will develop for your morning drive. Use extra caution, should less visibilities occur. Other than that, temperatures will dip down to near 50 degrees overnight. Looking ahead to your new work week, a huge contrast from last week is to be expected. While Monday and Tuesday will feature temperatures in the 70s, albeit a chance of rain or storms Tuesday, the rest of the week we will have a taste of reality – also known of as fall. Temperatures for the last part of the week may not get out of the 60s (even the 50s) and will be between 40 and 45 for the overnight periods. However, that won’t occur until the cold front passes Tuesday evening. So, for your Monday, expect sunny skies and a high of 70. Enjoy it and have a great night and an even better Monday!!!

Water Is Kyle’s Main Threat

Hurricane Kyle is now a tropical storm and while impacting areas not normally affected by tropical systems, areas in southeastern Canada and eastern Maine are experiencing problems with water, through lots of rain and high waves. Kyle is currently moving onshore near New Brunswick and is already bypassing Nova Scotia. All the tropical storm and hurricane advisories have been dropped, as Kyle is becoming a large non-tropical low pressure storm as it moves into the upper latitudes of Canada and the North Atlantic.

Winds are not going to be much of a problem as Kyle makes landfall over the next few hours. A few trees have been reported down in eastern Maine, but the main threat has been large amounts of beach erosion with the high surf, as well as plenty of rain. Flooding has been reported in many coastal towns. The good news is that Kyle is moving north at 30 mph and will be long gone by tomorrow afternoon, at least for the United States.

Kyle Becomes A Hurricane

As of 5pm, now Hurricane Kyle has winds of 75 mph, with a pressure of 995 millibars. The storm was located about 485 miles south of Nantuckett, Massachusetts. A hurricane watch is in effect from Stonington to Eastport, MA. Also, a tropical storm warning is in effect from Port Clyde to Eastport, MA. A tropical storm watch is in effect south of the warning area from Port Clyde to Saint Elizabeth. Also, Canada has issued a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch for southwestern Nova Scotia.

The center of Hurricane Kyle is expected to bring high waves to the New England coastline tonight and increased winds and rain will impact the New England area tomorrow. However, Kyle is already moving into the faster upper level winds which will cause its forward speed to increase, which will limit the affects of the storm, and it will be out of the way by Monday.

Kyle Just Shy of Hurricane Strength

Tropical Storm Kyle is beginning to look a little better organized tonight, and as of 11pm the winds have increased to 70 mph. This puts Kyle just shy of category one strength which is at 74 mph. A tropical storm warning has been issued for the island of Bermuda. While Kyle is not expected to directly impact the island, the outer bands of the storm’s center will bring squally weather overnight into Saturday. Thereafter, the center of Kyle will pass just east of the Maine coastline Sunday into Monday and into the Canadian Maritimes (Nova Scotia and other land areas) before being absorbed by a cold front and get kicked out to sea.

Message of Hope

I got this email today from the American Red Cross. I hope this letter allows you all to see just how much your contributions help those in need. I still have the link in my blogroll to donate, so I urge you to help in any way you can, even though Hurricane Ike hit 2 weeks ago. Here’s a copy of what was sent to me. I hope you find it very touching as I did. Thanks again to all of my readers!

SEPTEMBER 2008 Dear Friend of the Red Cross,While September signals a change of season, the hurricane season 2008 has certainly dramatically changed the lives of tens of thousands of Americans. Many people from the Gulf Coast to the Midwest are hurting still… many still need food and shelter daily… many are still unable to return to their homes, after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike struck their communities. It’s amazing to watch our country, as a community, responding to get our neighbors the help they need:   Thousands of Red Cross workers deployed from around the country Many of our generous family of donors responded on the spot With partners like the Salvation Army, the Southern Baptist Convention, Hope Worldwide, the NAACP and local churches, together we’re supporting affected communities more strongly. We’re dealing now with certain hard realities: a depleted Disaster Relief Fund, after Gustav has been a costly relief operation— but only a fraction of that cost has been raised. And now, Ike will likely surpass Gustav in response costs, as a large, lengthy relief operation possibly stretching into the coming months.But we live in a generous society, where ordinary citizens act without pause to help out when neighbors need it. Thank you, Neighbors! And please keep on helping however you can — you’ll change the lives of those suffering from disaster. Warm Regards, Bonnie McElveen-Hunter Chairman of the Board, American Red Cross

Kyle Steadily Strengthening

While still under the influence of some light wind shear, tropical storm Kyle has steadily strengthened overnight and now has winds of 60 mph. The storm is expected to become a hurricane tonight or on Saturday as upper level winds relax, now that our coastal storm is inland over the Carolinas. I will post another brief update early this afternoon, followed by the next complete update after 5pm today.

TS Kyle Forms

After watching the area of disturbed weather affect Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, it has moved northward and has become Tropical Storm Kyle. As of 11pm, winds were near 50 mph and the center was 555 miles south-southwest of Bermuda, and moving north at 13 mph. The storm won’t stick around too long, but it will go west of Bermuda late tomorrow bringing breezy conditions and high waves to the island. It will come very close to the New England coast late Saturday and Sunday (maybe as a hurricane) before becoming absorbed into a cold front in the North Atlantic by Nova Scotia.

Meanwhile, the non-tropical low pressure system has moved onshore near the North and South Carolina border. While never a named system, it brought tropical storm force winds and rainy conditions to the coast. As the storm continues inland, it will move up the coast, spreading rain and winds all the way to New England, where Kyle will come and bring more rain later this weekend. It will be a mess for the East Coast over the next few days.

This rain will affect our area here in northeastern Ohio, as we will have an increased chance of rain later Friday afternoon and into Saturday. The winds may be a little breezy 15 to 25 mph, but don’t expect a washout. Temperatures for your Friday will be cool, in the upper 60s and near 70 on Saturday.