1:17pm There are 3 tropical systems currently being monitored in the Atlantic Ocean; Hurricane Igor, Hurricane Julia and Tropical Storm Karl. As of Wednesday morning Hurricane Igor remains very strong storm with maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour, just shy of becoming a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Hurricane Igor is positioned approximately 600 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands and is moving towards the west north west with a forward speed of 8 miles per hour. The forecast for Hurricane Igor takes it north of the Caribbean away from the Leeward Islands, forecast models predict this system will then take a northerly turn away from the east coast of the United States towards Bermuda. Even though Hurricane Igor will not directly impact the US its effects will be felt up and down the eastern seaboard. Igor will generate large swells and dangerous rip currents for the east coast beaches. The next system being monitored is Hurricane Julia, now a Category 4 Hurricane. As of Wednesday morning Hurricane Julia has maximum sustained winds of 135 miles per hour and is moving towards the north west with a forward speed of 14 miles per hour. Julia is located 490 miles to the west of Cape Verde moving away from the coast of Africa. At this time Hurricane Julia is not expected to be a threat to any land mass, however it will be a concern for maritime interest. The third system being monitored in the Atlantic is Tropical Storm Karl. Karl has made it over land and is now producing torrential rains in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. As of Wednesday morning Tropical Storm Karl has maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour. It is forecast to re-emerge over warm waters as it crosses in to the Gulf of Mexico where it has the potential of gaining strength before making another landfall in Mexico. Lastly, I am monitoring a tropical wave that has emerged off the African coast just south of Cape Verde. This region appears to be going through a tropical cyclone genesis phase; here we might be looking at the spawn of yet another tropical system. The 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season remains active. So far this season there have been 11 named storms in the Atlantic; 5 of which became Hurricanes, 4 of these have achieved Major Hurricane status of Category 3 or better. We are only half way through the Atlantic Hurricane Season and it is still peak time for tropical activity, at the rate were going the 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season will start to mirror the 2005 Hurricane Season when we monitored a record 27 named systems developing in the Atlantic basin.
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