While we’d both love to track hurricanes all the time, Joey and I both have full-time jobs. Today I worked pretty much nonstop trying to get ready for an upcoming vacation, so there wasn’t a lot of time to stalk hurricanes online and blog. I said to myself, “Surely the tropics will be quiet for the next 12 hours or so.”
NOPE!
Depression 17 has now been upgraded to Tropical Storm Ophelia, which is gradually gaining strength out in the Atlantic. Ophelia is the 15th named storm this season and may be the 10th consecutive storm to reach named status, breaking a record that was last set in the 1800s.
She’s expected to become a hurricane by Thursday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center. But there’s good news: Ophelia is projected to move to the northeast, away from the Caribbean, Mexico, and the southeastern U.S. I wouldn’t expect the NHC to issue any advisories for the next few days unless the storm takes a dramatic turn. Fortunately, weak steering currents out in the ocean may keep her hanging out in the Atlantic for the next several days.
Hunker Down! 