thebahamasweekly.com - Category Three Hurricane Edouard to Send Rough Surf to US East Coast

From:TheBahamasWeekly.com

Bahamas Weather
Category Three Hurricane Edouard to Send Rough Surf to US East Coast
By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com
Sep 16, 2014 - 12:48:46 PM

AccuWeather reports while Category 3 Hurricane Edouard will stay thousands of miles away from the Atlantic coast of the United States, waves produced by the storm at sea are heading westward.

According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski, "By the middle of this week, bathers should expect rough surf conditions with the danger of strong and frequent rip currents from Cape Cod to northeastern Florida."

Surf conditions may stay locally rough into the coming weekend. Because of the time of year, many lifeguards are not on duty. Bathers should use extra caution.

Edouard is the fourth hurricane of the 2014 Atlantic season. There have been six tropical depressions with four moving on to become hurricanes (Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal and Edouard) and one becoming a tropical storm (Dolly).
Edouard has become the first Category 3 hurricane of the 2014 Atlantic season. It has entered an area with low disruptive winds and warm water during the past couple of days. A Category 3 hurricane has maximum sustained winds ranging from 111 to 129 mph. The last major hurricane in the Atlantic was during the 2012 season with Sandy on Oct. 25.

Edouard is forecast to take a path, well away from the United States and Canada.

This animated gif shows Edouard spinning over the central Atlantic. (NOAA/Satellite)

According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bob Smerbeck, Edouard will curve a few hundred miles east of Bermuda. Rough surf and seas will impact the islands.

Folks in the Azores will want to keep a close eye on Edouard, even though by then the system will be weakening as it approaches.

"Edouard will move across the cooler waters of the northern Atlantic mid- to late-week and then it will begin to weaken and transition into a non-tropical system," said Smerbeck.

The system may affect the Azores this weekend with tropical storm conditions, which includes squalls and rough seas.

Over in the eastern Pacific, Hurricane Odile is impacting Baja California. Odile is forecast to take a path paralleling the west coast of Mexico and is likely to bring another round of drenching rain and thunderstorms into the southwestern U.S. this week. There is a chance the drenching rain will reach Southern California, including coastal areas.