While there are still scenarios that would take
Hurricane Joaquin out to sea, the possibility of the hurricane reaching the Eastern United States coast is gaining merit.
Joaquin Strengthening; Mid-Atlantic Coast on Alert for Weekend
Joaquin is forecast to continue to gather strength just northeast of the Bahamas during the next couple of days before it begins its northward run along the East coast. The system is forecast reach Category 3 strength.
The storm will bring pounding surf, dangerous seas, strong winds, drenching squalls and flash flooding to the central Bahamas. Wind gusts could reach between 75 and 100 mph on some of the islands.
As a result Joaquin will threaten lives and property in the Bahamas through Thursday, before turning northward.
Joaquin Track Scenarios
The most likely scenario is for Joaquin to be guided westward this weekend with possible landfall between North Carolina and southern New Jersey on Sunday.
Exactly where the system rolls ashore and progresses inland will define the worst conditions in terms of wind and flooding. It is too early to say for sure exactly where Joaquin may move onshore.
Should Joaquin track into northeastern North Carolina, conditions may get very nasty over the Delmarva Peninsula with significant rain, wind and coastal flooding westward to the Chesapeake Bay, including the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore areas. Conditions could approach that of Isabelle.
Comment: Such storms may not be so "unusual" when seen as an isolated event. Recently however, this region in Australia has been battered by 'golf-ball sized' hail, an enormous sinkhole swallowed part of a beach and campsite and the area was rocked by 2 earthquakes as powerful as an 'atomic bomb'- in the strongest shakes in nearly 100 years. Is this normal or usual?
Keep informed on these increasingly chaotic, global events by viewing the monthly SOTT Earth Changes Summary.
SOTT Earth Changes Summary - August 2015: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs