Storms for SE MN; Hurricane Bertha to miss East Coast
Storms are possible across southeast Minnesota and southwest Wisconsin this afternoon. Here's the latest from the National Weather Service in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Hurricane Bertha
Tropical Storm Bertha in the Atlantic has strengthened into a hurricane. But the National Hurricane Center projects a track to the northeast which keeps the main impact away from the eastern coastal states.
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From the Hurricane Center 11 a.m. EDT statement:
AT 1100 AM EDT...1500 UTC...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE BERTHA WAS
LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 27.6 NORTH...LONGITUDE 73.6 WEST. BERTHA IS
MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH NEAR 17 MPH...28 KM/H...AND A TURN TOWARD
THE NORTH-NORTHEAST AND NORTHEAST WITH INCREASING FORWARD SPEED IS
FORECAST OVER THE NEXT 48 HOURS. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...BERTHA
WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE AWAY FROM THE BAHAMAS TODAY AND PASS ABOUT
MIDWAY BETWEEN THE U.S. EAST COAST AND BERMUDA ON TUESDAY.
REPORTS FROM NOAA AND AIR FORCE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT INDICATE
THAT THE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 80 MPH...130
KM/H...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. LITTLE CHANGE IN STRENGTH IS FORECAST
DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. A WEAKENING TREND IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN
BY LATE TUESDAY.
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Background information on tropical storms is provided by the National Hurricane Center.
Overview
A tropical cyclone is a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has a closed low-level circulation. Tropical cyclones rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. They are classified as follows:
Tropical Depression: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 38 mph (33 knots) or less.
Tropical Storm: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph (34 to 63 knots).
Hurricane: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph (64 knots) or higher. In the western North Pacific, hurricanes are called typhoons; similar storms in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean are called cyclones.
Major Hurricane: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 111 mph (96 knots) or higher, corresponding to a Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Tropical cyclones forming between 5 and 30 degrees North latitude typically move toward the west. Sometimes the winds in the middle and upper levels of the atmosphere change and steer the cyclone toward the north and northwest. When tropical cyclones reach latitudes near 30 degrees North, they often move northeast.