The East Coast is bracing for the possibility of Hurricane Joaquin
coming ashore as a potential Category 2 storm by Sunday.
Joaquin strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane Wednesday.
On that, the meteorologists agree.
But the precarious path that the storm will take in the coming days
— belting the East Coast or straying out to sea — remains a point
of contention.
The American forecast model predicts Joaquin will veer
northwestward, ramming into Virginia, Maryland or North Carolina
this weekend. The European forecast model suggests Joaquin
will avoid the East Coast entirely. And the National Hurricane
Center forecast offers somewhat of a compromise between the
two.
Joaquin — the third hurricane of the 2015 Atlantic season — is
packing sustained winds of 85 mph as it lurks about 190 miles
east of the Bahamas, according to the National Weather Service.
It's expected to produce up to two feet of rain over certain areas
of the islands.
Regardless of whether the hurricane makes landfall in the U.S.,
which some forecasters believe could happen in the Mid-Atlantic
region by Saturday night or Sunday, a huge swath of the East
Coast is bracing for heavy rain and flooding this week.
"It could be a significant situation," said Brian Fortier, senior
meteorologist at The Weather Channel. "Everyone along the
Northeast coast, right up to New England, should keep a close
eye on the forecasts."
A hurricane warning had been issued for Joaquin earlier
Wednesday.
The National Weather Service said these warnings are typically
alerted 36 hours before "conditions that make outside
preparations difficult or dangerous," meaning that "preparations to
protect life and property should be rushed to completion."
The storm is predicted to move southwest before swinging
northwards, but that's where the agreement between
meteorologists ends.
Some experts say the center of the storm will stay offshore;
others predict it will make landfall, likely hitting North Carolina or
Virginia this weekend.
"If there's anywhere in this country that could take a Category 1
hit, it would be eastern North Carolina," NBC News meteorologist
Bill Karins said on MSNBC Wednesday morning.
If Joaquin does make landfall, the mid-Atlantic would face high
winds — possibly as strong as 100 mph — and torrential rains.
However, even if the hurricane does not make landfall, its
resultant rains looked certain to drench most of the Eastern
Seaboard through the latter week and weekend, according to
The Weather Channel.
(Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/hurricanejoaquin)
Vocabulary:
intensify= to become more serious
contention=disagreement
veer=to change direction
ram=to hit or push with force
bracing=healthy and fresh
lurk= move in a secret way that it cannot be seen
drench=to make something extremely wet