NHC tracking Tropical Storm Oscar. Florida impacts
After a busy weekend, the tropics are fairly quiet today, with the National Hurricane Center tracking only Tropical Storm Oscar, according to the latest advisory.
On Friday, forecasters were watching two invests. Over the weekend, one became Tropical Storm Nadine shortly before making landfall Saturday near Belize City. Maximum sustained winds were estimated at 60 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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The other invest strengthened into Hurricane Oscar.
Oscar made landfall Sunday on Great Inagua Island in the Bahamas, with sustained winds of 80 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Later that afternoon, Oscar made a second landfall in the Cuban province of Guantanamo with sustained winds remaining at 80 mph.
Monday morning, Oscar has weakened into a tropical storm after interacting with the mountains in Cuba. It’s expected to remain a tropical storm as it moves toward the central and southeastern Bahamas Tuesday and then out into the Atlantic, away from Florida and the U.S.
Here’s the latest update from the NHC as of 2 p.m.:
Tropical Storm Oscar: See latest advisory from National Hurricane Center
Special note on the NHC cone: The forecast track shows the most likely path of the center of the storm. It does not illustrate the full width of the storm or its impacts, and the center of the storm is likely to travel outside the cone up to 33% of the time.
➤ Tracker: See projected path, spaghetti models for Tropical Storm Oscar
➤ Tropical Storm Oscar weakening as it moves slowly west. Will Florida feel any impacts?
Spaghetti models for Tropical Storm Oscar
Special note about spaghetti models: Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The Hurricane Center uses only the top four or five highest performing models to help make its forecasts.
➤ Spaghetti models for Tropical Storm Oscar
What else is out there and how likely are they to strengthen?
As of 2 p.m., the National Hurricane Center was tracking only one system: Tropical Storm Oscar.
What do the colored areas on the NOAA map mean?
The hatched areas on a tropical outlook map indicate “areas where a tropical cyclone — which could be a tropical depression, tropical storm or hurricane — could develop,” said National Hurricane Center Deputy Director Jamie Rhome.
The colors make it visibly clear how likely a system could develop with yellow being low, orange medium and red high.
The National Hurricane Center generally doesn’t issue tropical advisories until a there is a named storm, but there is an exception.
“If a system is near land and there is potential for development, the National Hurricane Center won’t wait before it issues advisories, even if the system hasn’t become an actual storm. This gives residents time to prepare,” Rhome said.
Who is likely to be impacted?
Oscar is not expected to impact Florida.
Forecasters urge all residents to continue monitoring the tropics and to always be prepared.
Weather watches and warnings issued in Florida
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When is the Atlantic hurricane season?
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.
The Atlantic basin includes the northern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.
Countdown clock: When will hurricane season end?
Interactive map: Hurricanes, tropical storms that have passed near your city
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What’s next?
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(This story was updated to add new information.)
