THIS IS A NEWS ITEM ON HURRICANE GONZALO ISSUED BY THE BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY FORECAST OFFICE SECTION, AT 6AM, THURSDAY, 16TH OCTOBER, 2014.
…GONZALO REACHES CATEGORY FOUR STRENGTH AGAIN WITH CONDITIONS ON BERMUDA EXPECTED TO DETERIORATE TONIGHT …
AT 5AM AST, THE EYE OF HURRICANE GONZALO WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 25.3°NORTH AND LONGITUDE 68.7°WEST OR ABOUT 540 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF BERMUDA.
GONZALO IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH NEAR 9 MPH…AND THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TODAY. A TURN TO THE NORTH-NORTHEAST WITH SOME INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT AND FRIDAY. ON THE FORECAST TRACK THE CENTER OF GONZALO IS EXPECTED TO PASS NEAR BERMUDA ON FRIDAY.
SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATES THAT MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 140 MILES PER HOUR (MPH) WITH HIGHER GUSTS. GONZALO IS A CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON WIND SCALE. FLUCTUATIONS IN INTENSITY ARE COMMON IN MAJOR HURRICANES…AND ARE LIKELY TO OCCUR WITH GONZALO TODAY. SLOW WEAKENING IS FORECAST TONIGHT AND FRIDAY BUT GONZALO IS EXPECTED TO BE A DANGEROUS HURRICANE WHEN IT MOVES NEAR BERMUDA. STEADY WEAKENING SHOULD BEGIN BY LATE FRIDAY.
THE NEXT NEWS ITEM WILL BE ISSUED AT NOON.
PREPARED BY DUTY FORECASTER: GREGORY D THOMPSON
ISSUED AT 5:45AM, THU, 16TH OCT, 2014.
