Topline
Hurricane Sam strengthened to a Category-3 storm late Saturday morning. This makes it the fourth Atlantic hurricane of the past five week. The threat of more Atlantic storms in the coming days mean that this year's storm watch could be exhausted, with less than two months remaining in Atlantic hurricane season.
Late Saturday morning, Hurricane Sam was declared a major hurricane in the central Atlantic Ocean. NOAA
The Key Facts
Hurricane Sam quickly intensified from a tropical hurricane to a major storm in less than 36 hours. It now has maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. The Leeward Islands in the eastern Caribbean are still about 1,000 miles from the central Atlantic storm, but it is expected to move north. According to the National Hurricane Center, Sam will remain a major hurricane for at least five days. The storm is expected to attain Category 4 status in the next 24 hours. This storm joins Hurricane Ida and Hurricane Ida as the strongest storms this season. Sam is expected to remain a strong storm for the long-term, but the United States is not at risk. The storm is forecasted to pass over open waters in five days, hundreds miles away from the nearest Caribbean Island.
Important Quote
The National Hurricane Center stated that Sam will become a Category 4 hurricane within the next 24 hours if the environment supports further strengthening.
What to Watch
Subtropical Depression Teresa is another storm that is expected to pass about 150 miles north-east of Bermuda on Saturday. However, the National Hurricane Center monitors two additional systems that could form over the next week. Neither would pose a threat to land but neither would be a major threat. The National Hurricane Center will need to go into its auxiliary names list for the first time, as just two additional storms could exhaust the 21-named storm list for this season. Storms were previously named after letters from the Greek alphabet, except when the normal list ran dry. This happened twice in 2005 and 2021. Meteorologists ended the practice because the names of certain letters in Greek were too similar. This caused confusion among the public. The end of hurricane season is November 30.
Important Background
The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season will be another record-breaking year. Since records began in 1851, storms are growing faster than ever, with the exception of one2020 which had 30 named storms. The most destructive and strongest storm of the season was Hurricane Ida. It made landfall in Louisiana on 28 August with sustained winds of 150 mph. This storm tied it for the title as the strongest storm in wind speed to hit the state. The destruction of coastal communities was extensive, and electricity was cut off to some areas in the New Orleans metropolitan region for several weeks. The storm caused the majority of deaths in New York and New Jersey. However, at least 48 people were killed in historic flooding.
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New Orleans Recovers Partially Power after Hurricane Ida, but Full Return could Take Weeks or More (Forbes).
