Slowing makes this thing even stronger and I have seen the power of these things when I was in the NAVY, Hurricanes are living storms and seek out warm water to stay alive. I am predicting it could reach Cat 4 status if it makes landfall at NC/SC border as that would have kept in the Gulf Steam for more than 3 days.
Wonder how many hotel reservations along Carolina beaches are being cancelled right now? They don’t need this just as summer is winding down...
Yeah. The speed is what concerns me now. “
If she sits out there gaining strength it could be a beast.
“Irene is moving toward the west-northwest near 13 mph, and this motion, with a small decrease in forward speed is expected tonight and Tuesday.”
Slowing also allows for weakening as it approaches land as much of the fuel, the warm water, is cut off from the land side.
The worst case scenario is it approaching islands where it can draw on heat and moisture from beyond them. Approaching the continent as it is, it will begin to weaken and unless it suddenly picks up a lot of forward speed, is not likely to make landfall at it’s peak category classification.
A lot of the Cat 4/5 ones that were aiming for NO weakened down to a 2 by landfall in the past.