Hurricane Ida is on the move to the North at 12 MPH as it heads for the Gulf of Mexico. Current maximum sustained winds are 90 MPH.
Projected landfall has Ida in the Western Panhandle of Florida stretching to the Mississippi/Louisiana border between 6 p. m. CST Tuesday to 6 p. m. Wednesday. (see map)
AT 5 PM...2100 UTC...THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES HAS ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM WATCH FOR THE ISLAND OF ST. MAARTEN.
AT 5 PM...THE GOVERNMENT OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA HAS ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM WATCH FOR THE ISLANDS OF ANTIGUA...BARBUDA...ST. KITTS...NEVIS...AND ANGUILLA.
AT 5 PM...THE GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE HAS ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM WATCH FOR THE ISLANDS OF ST. MARTIN AND ST. BARTHELEMY.
Check this blog for updates.
Claudette is currently projected to hit the Florida Panhandle within the next 12 hours.
SPECIAL TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
340 PM EDT MON MAY 18 2009
FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...
SATELLITE IMAGERY AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS INDICATE THAT AN AREA OF DISTURBED WEATHER HAS FORMED OVER EASTERN CUBA...THE SOUTHEASTERN BAHAMAS...AND THE ADJACENT WATERS. SLOW DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SYSTEM IS POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT DAY OR TWO AS IT MOVES GENERALLY NORTHWARD AT 10 TO 15 MPH. AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT WILL INVESTIGATE THE SYSTEM ON TUESDAY...IF NECESSARY. THERE IS A LOW CHANCE...LESS THAN 30 PERCENT...OF THIS SYSTEM BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.
