UPDATE: Just as soon as I posted the below entry, the NHC decided it was time for Bill to be the first major hurricane of the 2009 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
Here is the announcement:
000 WTNT63 KNHC 190030 TCUAT3 HURRICANE BILL TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL032009 830 PM AST TUE AUG 18 2009 ...BILL BECOMES A MAJOR HURRICANE... REPORTS FROM A NOAA HURRICANE HUNTER PLANE INDICATE THAT BILL HAS STRENGTHENED AND MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 125 MPH...205 KM/HR. BILL A CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR/SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE. A COMPLETE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 11 PM AST. KIMBERLAIN/PASCH
Today was a very exciting day for Hurricane Bill as the Category 2 hurricane developed a well pronounced eye and exhibited great symmetrical structure with low-level spiral banding and upper-level outflow channels giving Hurricane Bill a nice buzz saw appearance.
A Hurricane Hunter Recon Flight investigated Bill earlier today and measured 964.4 mb of pressure at 23:00Z along with a surface wind speed of 90.8 mph near the Southern Eyewall.
As you can see from the chart below, the pressure measurement is very near Category 3 strength, however the wind speed measured is only Category 1 strength, so based on the evidence found by the recon flight, the National Hurricane Center is not upgrading Bill to major hurricane status (Category 3) at this time.
Bill’s forecast track hasn’t altered much since my previous post yesterday. Bill should remain at sea taking a turn towards the north within the next day as a weakness develops in the subtropical ridge. The track forecast puts Bill dangerously close to Bermuda, and then the ridge will quickly pull the hurricane further north will it will become extratropical in the cooler waters of the Northern Atlantic.
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