by Dreams End » Wed Sep 07, 2005 8:44 pm
Like her namesake..rather unpredictable:<br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr><br>Ophelia grows stronger off Florida<br>Tropical storm inching along state's Atlantic coast<br><br>Wednesday, September 7, 2005; Posted: 3:00 p.m. EDT (19:00 GMT)<br><br>story.noaa.315a.wed.jpg<br>An infrared satellite image shows the storm at 3:15 a.m. ET Wednesday.<br> <br>MyCashNow - $100 - $1,500 Overnight<br>Payday Loan Cash goes in your account overnight. Very low fees. Fast decisions....<br>www.mycashnow.com<br>Refinance Rates Hit Record Lows<br>Get $150,000 loan for $720 per month. Refinance while rates are low.<br>www.lowermybills.com<br>Compare Mortgage Offers<br>Up to four free mortgage, refinance or home equity offers - one easy form.<br>www.nextag.com<br>Comcast High-Speed Internet<br>Order today for a $19.99/mo. special, free modem, plus get $75 cash back when...<br>www.comcastoffers.com<br>RELATED<br>• National Hurricane Centerexternal link<br>YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS<br>Storm<br>or Create Your Own<br>Manage Alerts | What Is This?<br><br>MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) -- Tropical Storm Ophelia strengthened off Florida's Atlantic Coast on Wednesday, but its slow and erratic movement confounded forecasters' attempts to predict whether or where it would hit land.<br><br>Ophelia coalesced overnight from a loose and swirling mass of thunderstorms and had top winds of 50 mph.<br><br>At 11 a.m. ET, Ophelia was centered about 85 miles east-northeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, and inching northwest, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said.<br><br>It was expected to strengthen slowly into a hurricane, with winds of at least 74 mph as it hugged the Florida coast for the next couple of days.<br><br>Tropical storm warnings were posted for a 120-mile stretch of shoreline from Sebastian Inlet to Flagler Beach in Florida, alerting residents to expect the storm within 24 hours.<br><br>Forecasters said Ophelia could dump 3 to 8 inches of rain on parts of central and north Florida and southeast Georgia, and trigger dangerous rip tides all along the Southeast U.S. coast.<br><br>But the air currents that usually guide the path of tropical storms were so weak that long-term forecasting models diverged greatly on Ophelia's most likely path.<br><br>Two models took it west across Florida and into the northern Gulf of Mexico, the region stricken by catastrophic Hurricane Katrina. Several other models had it looping slowly off the Southeast coast.<br><br>"The best option in these cases ... is to forecast little motion," hurricane center forecaster Lixion Avila wrote in his advisory. "The bottom line is that Ophelia will likely meander just off the northern Florida and southeast Georgia coasts for the next five days."<br><br>In the mid-Atlantic, Hurricane Nate strengthened as it neared the British colony of Bermuda. It had top winds of 80 mph and was expected to pass just south of the island of 65,000 people by Thursday.<br><br>Nate was centered 230 miles south-southwest of Bermuda and was expected to pound the island with battering waves.<br><br>"I think we're unlikely to sustain a lot of damage from Hurricane Nate," said Elizabeth Harris, a meteorologist with the Bermuda Weather Service. "It's just really going to brush past."<br><br>The island, a resort and banking center, rarely sees much damage from storms of Nate's caliber.<br><br>"We build all of our houses out of concrete blocks," Harris said.<br><br>Farther north in the Atlantic, Hurricane Maria was a danger to ships but did not threaten land. It was about 835 miles east-northeast of Bermuda and still had top winds of 80 mph. But Maria was moving over colder water that was expected to siphon its strength and break it apart in the next few days.<br><br>The tropical trifecta was not unusual for early September, which is traditionally the peak of the Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season that runs from June 1 to November 30.<br><br>Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <p></p><i></i>
