Saturday, July 25th 2020, 9:25 pm – After a seasonal lull, the Atlantic basin has come alive with its first hurricane of the season, Hanna, while Tropical Storm Gonzalo loses energy.
The temporary pause on the Atlantic hurricane season is no more, with Hurricane Hanna churning in the ocean. Tropical Storm Gonzalo has already come and gone at it weakened around the Caribbean islands.
Gonzalo was heading toward the land of Windward Islands, but is looking to look its steam before it reaches land. Hanna, on the other hand, has reached and maintained hurricane status as it approaches landfall along Texas coast.
HURRICANE HANNA
In the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Hanna currently sits some 135 km southeast Corpus Christi, Texas and inching west toward land at near 11 km/h. A gradual turn toward the west-southwest is expected through Sunday.
The storm’s maximum wind gusts are near 130 km/h, and the storm has reached Category 1 hurricane status. The centre of the Hanna should make landfall along the Texas coast within the hurricane warning area over the weekend. Further strengthening is possible before Hanna makes landfall, but rapid weakening is expected after it moves inland.
Hanna should be reduced to a post-tropical storm as of Monday morning.
Hurricane and storm surge warnings are in effect for the central, western Texas coast.
Hanna is expected to bring 150-300 mm of rainfall to parts of southern Texas, and Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and northern Tamaulipas in Mexico, with around 450 mm possible in isolated extreme cases. Meanwhile, 75-125 mm of rain is expected along the upper Texas and Louisiana coasts.
“This rain may result in life-threatening flash flooding, rapid rises on small streams, and isolated minor to moderate river flooding in south Texas,” the NHC says.
Other threats include dangerous storm surge, strong winds and the possibility of a few tornadoes.
TROPICAL STORM GONZALO
Tropical storm warnings have been lifted for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tobago, as Gonzalo has tapered off before reaching any land.
Gonzalo was located 90 km east of Trinidad, while packing maximum sustained winds near 65 km/h.
Gonzalo was moving across the southern Windward Islands Saturday afternoon but didn’t have enough steam to make it towards its trajectory, the southeastern Caribbean Sea.
According to Phillip Klotzbach, a Colorado State University meteorologist, Gonzalo is the earliest 7th-named storm ever in the Atlantic basin. The previous record belonged to Gert, which formed on July 24, 2005.
FALL MAY BE MORE EXTREME THAN NORMAL
The Atlantic hurricane season in the autumn may be more extreme than usual, the German reinsurer Munich Re said Thursday.
La Nina weather conditions that are forecast can intensify tropical cyclones, the agency said in a report on natural disasters.
During the first six months in 2020, natural disasters resulted in $68 billion in losses, lower than the average of the past 30 years, according to Munich Re.
With files from Reuters.
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Hurricane Hanna alive in Texas, Tropical Storm Gonzalo weakens – The Weather Network
