[Updated at 11:12 p.m. ET] Tropical Storm Katia was strengthening in the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday and could become a hurricane on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said.
In its 11 p.m. ET advisory, the hurricane center said Katia has maximum sustained winds of 60 mph - up from 45 mph 12 hours earlier. The storm was in the open Atlantic about 1,700 miles east-southeast of the Caribbean Sea's Leeward Islands.
Katia was moving west-northwest near 22 mph. That general motion was expected to continue for the next two days, though the forward speed could decrease, the hurricane center said.
Katia could grow into a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph by Saturday evening, perhaps more than 500 miles east of the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico, the hurricane center said. It is too early to predict whether the storm will threaten land.
Category 3 hurricanes have maximum sustained winds of 111 to 130 mph.
Katia is the storm name that replaced Katrina in the revolving list of names, according to the center. The list of Atlantic hurricane names is repeated every seven years, and this year the list that was used in 2005 is being reused.
A storm name is retired if it is used for a hurricane that caused major damage, as Katrina did to the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005.
"The only time that there is a change is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for obvious reasons of sensitivity," the hurricane center said.
[Updated at 5:42 p.m. ET] Tropical Storm Katia was strengthening in the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday and could become a hurricane on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said.
In its 5 p.m. ET advisory, the hurricane center said Katia has maximum sustained winds of 60 mph - up from 45 mph six hours earlier. The storm was about 750 miles west of the southernmost of the Cape Verde Islands, which are hundreds of miles off the west coast of Africa.
Katia was moving west-northwest near 20 mph.
[Updated at 11:40 a.m. ET] In its 11 a.m. ET advisory, the hurricane center said Katia has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. The storm was in the open Atlantic about 630 miles west-southwest of the southernmost of the Cape Verde Islands. It was moving west-northwest at 18 mph. That general motion was expected to continue for the next few days.
[Updated at 5:25 a.m. ET] Tropical Storm Katia barreled across the Atlantic Ocean early Tuesday and is expected to intensify and accelerate, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
As of 5 a.m. ET, Katia was about 535 miles (855 kilometers) west-southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands and carried maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph).
I've noticed a lot of venom being directed towards victims of Irene. Before the storm hit the East Coast, the same people were talking about the "little storm" known as Katrina as well. I'm from New Orleans and as someone who has been through hurricanes their entire life, I will say that you really shouldn't speak on something you know nothing about. Irene, while no Katrina, was and still is a nightmare for many on the East Coast. Flooding is still occurring and entire communities have been washed away. Unless you have ever lost everything, you can't possibly understand the feelings and emotions of victims, yes victims! Luckily, Hurricanes often weaken along the way and can move ever so slightly, protecting those in its path from a far worse fate. The unfortunate thing about this is that people will often thing the whole thing was overblown and be unprepared next time. New Orleanians thought that when we were told to evacuate before Katrina. I assume you know how that turned out?Just because you didn't see the level of destruction you feel is worthy of constant media coverage doesn't mean that the coverage is not justified. People with loved ones, homes and businesses in Irene's path I promise you, weren't bothered by the constant media coverage. As a side note, Hurricanes don't care if you are liberal or conservative, they have no preference. Bush was responsible for the poor response to Katrina, not the hurricane itself. The same goes for Obama. I hope no one ever has to go through such destruction, even the nay-sayers. But please stop criticizing your fellow Americans. It's disgusting and shameful.
Isn't it crazy how people are boasting about how little damage they suffered, and criticizing others for any reason? We don't do anything but point fingers anymore. If the intelligence level of these comments reflects the wisdom of our society, we're totally screwed.
Well put. I'm so tired of people who criticize anything and everything after the fact. Sure, it's easy with 20/20 hindsight. Forecasters have to make the call before the event happens, and when millions of people are going to be affected, they will of course err on the side of caution. If they failed to warn and another Katrina hit somewhere, the same people who are complaining now would be howling about not being warned. People need to grow up and stop being such asshats. When you're in the hotseat, you make the best call you can. Monday morning quarterbacks – bah, I have no use for any of them.
I totally agree with you. It takes a true moron to make statements like that. This is the same kind of idiot that goes out kayaking (like the two that did, I think in NC or NY) where rescue workers had to risk their lives to save them. They should have just left them to their own fate. Anyone stupid enough to go thrill seeking after all the warnings don't deserve to be rescued. I can't imagine the sorrow for the families of those rescue workers had any of them lost their lives saving these morons. Anyway, your comments were well taken and I hope things are returning to some type of normalcy for you and yours after experiencing Katrina.
That is one of the most thought out and intelligent post I have ever read on these messages boards. If only others could see the wisdom and truth in what you are saying. The ignorance that comes from some people is just appaling. If only more people could learn from people like you
Mayor Nagin and the LA Governor are responsible for poor planning and response to Katrina. The Federal Gov't is NOT a first responder.
Very well said Katie. I was living on the gulf coast of Miss. when Katrina hit. I was one of those that lost all of my material possesions. That was a very devatatin time. For those who have never experienced this type of loss, there is no way they could ever understand. But that being said, It takes a very large jerk to not be able to care about their fellow man. I've already been attacked on thes blogs for trying to give some words of encouragement. Humankind really suck anymore.
Katrina was so bad due to the facts of ignorance of people not leaving when instructed, and poorly maintained construction to keep back the waters. Irene was bad becuase it hit a low flood plain all along the coast and though not big on the scale that marks a hurricane, it was big in diameter of a storm spawning tornados and producing extra rainfall. It all comes down to different situations and the post-storm reasonings after the fact to determine why. Oh, and one more thing. Storms are natural, not the end of the world you crazy people.
right on, Katie!
Well said Katie...Well said, and thats that.
You are spot on Katie. Not enough people have compassion for the seriousness of some of these natural disasters and they make nitwit comments, thinking that they are auditioning for some comedic role, and make light of every situation. It is so refreshing to read a comment like yours that has substance and great value. God bless you in all of your endeavors.
Very well said Katie...no matter where you are, if you're hit by a hurricnane here in the Gulf or on the east coast, they are one of the most destructive forces in nature. As someone who works in emergency management at the state level, I can tell you first hand how bad even weak hurricanes can get. One of the very first things I learned in my job is that no two hurricanes are EVER the same. It's sad to me that just because Irene wasn't a Katrina, Rita, Gustav, or Ike that people along the east coast have nothing to complain about. Just because a situation someone else may be going through is not as bad as you have gone through doesn't mean its not just as life altering to them.
Katie,
AS one that lives in Virginia Beach just 4 blocks from the ocean front, I was watching. As we all know, mother nature has her own mind and I was never so glad as to have her change it a little by the time she made her way up to us. Since a storm is not man made we have no control over it neither do any of the weather people. I think they did a great job, not to mention that they left their families to make sure that we are kept updated and protected. To all those that think it was overkill....I hope you never have to sit in the dark during a hurricane not knowing what is really coming your way. Thanks Katie for your post!
I have lost everything dear fellow American. In fact, it happened to me twice. It wasn't a tornado or hurricane that cause my turmoil or loss. The weather was fine but life was hell. We all go through spins and turns in life and at times we wonder, how do we recover from such devastation? Take comfort in this statement "We all can recover from a storm" and dear fellow American you will too! Please read Psalm 23 a well known psalm. This time read it with a resolve that Jesus loves us and has not forgotten the needs of this great country.
hit tx pls
Irene wasn't overblown. She just didn't blow hard enough.
Everyone seems to forget that Irene was just the FIRST hurricane of the season!
The question is, if no one is around to laugh at it, was it still funny to the Chink?
Forgive my ignorance, and I know some states got more rain than others, but can't the severity of the flooding be attributed to poor disaster recovery and capaticy planning? I mean VA (Richmond and Fredericksburg) have been hit with very large amounts of rainfall in the past and they've never flooded as bad as I've seen in pictures, that is nuts!
I know that here in NY we were near record levels for annual rainfall (or maybe over) before Irene, so the saturated ground played a big role in the level of flooding. Around my house the damage was little, but there were many roads flooded out which I had not seen before in my 20 years here.
Richmond and Fredericksburg aren't dealing as much with the flood waters as we are dealing with downed trees, downed powerlines, and still over 250k people without electricity (myself included). The flooding seems to be more of an issue further north in NJ and VT.
I think it has more to do with topography than planning. The rain hit hard and fast in the Catskills and Vermont. Since they are very mountainous regions that funneled the rain into the valleys. That is where the flooding occured. I believe Virginia is more flat so the water on the ground was more spread out.
Central Virginia has had its share of severe flooding. There are some things no amount of planning can prevent. The best we can work for is an efficient clean up and recovery.
http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?70705-MSNBC-Foot-of-rain-floods-Richmond-historic-area-hit-hardest
http://news.webshots.com/album/182181004LFRGFo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26602427@N02/2494389771/
http://chpn.net/news/2010/08/30/grace-and-31st-streets-2004_13910/
http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/flood-victims-memorialized-reports-unfinished/Content?oid=1364261
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=hurricane+gaston+2004+richmond&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1016&bih=544&tbm=isch&tbnid=MU0PwZ6dSrnrqM:&imgrefurl=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/06/02/GA2010060203819.html&docid=77ntVVORHUNNPM&w=704&h=471&ei=tVldTr-pAcTUgQeXmt2LAg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=360&page=5&tbnh=111&tbnw=155&start=59&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:59&tx=82&ty=82
Why is the next "storm/hurricane" named after a woman again? Don't they alternate male/female names between storms?
Yes they do alternate. Tropical Storm Jose fizzled out and died before he ever got going. It's usually the storms named after females that turn into the real biatchhes.
Yes – there had to be storm named after a male with the letter "J' before Katia. They follow the alphabet, then male or female.
Not all named storms make it on the news. Some of them are out in the oceans with no chance of making landfall, thus we really don't hear about them.
Let's not forget Andrew, Ivan, David, Mitch, – all devastating storms that made landfall and had male names.
@ Justsaying' – if you don't know your alphabet – J comes betwwen I (Irene) and K(Katia) and not all alphabets turn into hurricanes. BTW, I grew up in a country where English was NOT my first language. You should know better, smart American !
I think god should have his green card checked probably illegal!
you sir are an idiot, so the end of times has been going on since before jesus even came down, since hurricanes have been around before man........
Looks like the path of this one is more to the north than Irene's was at that same point. If the pattern holds, it should miss us entirely, I HOPE!!!!!
I hope David was being facetious, and if so, that was funny.
If he's serious, the Steve is correct, and David – this link is for you: http://tinyurl.com/2oovs
WOLF!! WOLF!!
This would be meant for you: http://tinyurl.com/2oovs
I'm thinking this little piggy lives in a house made of bricks.
Sometimes.
It's hurricane season... lol...
It certainly would be a surprise.
Wow. Katia is not even a threat to the U.S. Literally EVERY forecast model shows it turning north and staying out in the Atlantic. But I'm sure CNN can make a story of it and "scare" a few people before that happens because the NHC doesn't show the forecast track that far ahead. Katia will not hit the U.S.!
Katie, thank you for your post. I live in Idaho, so I have never experienced a hurricane. I feel so bad for those people that have had to live with the aftermath of these huge storms. While I get furious when I hear about those who don't evecuate and go kayaking or some other stupid activity, I also understand that evacuation must be extremely difficult for families with no money to get out. Or is everyone who leaves guaranteed a place to stay?
Kati
I live in the Outer Banks and chose to stay because my house is not in the flood zone. Thankfully, I had no damage to my house and never lost power. If we were to evacuate, we would have gone to Richmond, VA where they are still dealing with downed trees and power outages. Many places inland where people evacuated to experienced tornadoes. Look at Vermont, they are not on the coast and they are experiencing record flooding! With a storm of that size, who's to say where on the East coast was safe?