Irene Strengthens to Category 3 Hurricane as it Advances Into the Bahamas

August 24, 2011 Guest Author

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…

Irene Strengthens to Category 2 Hurricane as it Advances Towards the Southeastern

August 23, 2011 Guest Author

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…