BOSTON, Aug. 24, 2011 — As of the National Hurricane Center’s 8:00 am EDT advisory, Category 3 Hurricane Irene is battering the southern Bahamas with sustained winds of 115 mph. According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Irene is currently 55 miles southeast of Acklins Island and 335 miles southeast of the capital Nassau. The storm is moving to the west-northwest at 9 mph. The center of the storm is headed directly for the Crooked and Acklins Islands, both sparsely populated (estimated population about 880 combined) and characterized by agriculture…
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Irene Strengthens to Category 2 Hurricane as it Advances Towards the Southeastern
BOSTON, Aug. 23, 2011 – According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, just before 8pm last night, Hurricane Irene achieved Category 2 strength, buoyed by low wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures. According to the National Hurricane Center’s (NHC) 11 a.m. EDT advisory today, Irene is 70 miles south of the popular cruise destination, Grand Turk Island. Maximum sustained winds are 100 miles per hour. In addition to strengthening last night, the storm track shifted slightly east, which will keep Irene over open water longer as it tracks north…
Read MoreHurricane Irene threatens to make landfall in the U.S. this week
The first major hurricane of the season has manifested in Irene, and it has been gaining strength as it surges toward the Bahamas. Weather trackers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are predicting that Irene may make landfall as soon as Thursday. The hurricane has been growing in strength since its formation early Tuesday and has yet to show signs of slowing. Florida will be the first state that is hit by Irene should the hurricane reach the U.S., but both South Carolina and North Carolina will bear the…
Read MoreIrene Becomes First Hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season
According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Irene became the Atlantic basin’s first hurricane of the 2011 season when its winds strengthened to 75 miles per hour at about 5:00 AM Monday morning as it was exiting Puerto Rico’s northern coast. Currently a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale with sustained winds of 80 mph, Irene is expected to strengthen further over the next few days, potentially reaching Category 3 status by Saturday, depending on how long it remains over the ocean. “Hurricane Irene is the ninth…
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