Date added: Thursday September 14, 2006:
2am EST
Gordon Grows to Cat 3
TS Helene Forms In Atlantic
Neither Seen To Threaten US
Also:
Bermuda Hurricanes
By HurricaneNow.com
Chief Correspondent Jeff Flock
First Major Hurricane of 2006
The good news of course is that Gordon has absolutely no chance of hitting the United States. The bad is that it has become a powerful storm with winds upwards of 120 mph. Imagine if this one was bearing down on the US coast now, intensifying as it moves as Gordon is. But for the vagaries of weather patterns that are curling storms north and back to the east, some coastal US communities would be in deep prep/evac mode right now. It is a small storm though, with hurricane force winds only 30 miles out from the center. Of more concern...
Helene
Already a tropical storm, this one also has the potential to make a hurricane and perhaps a powerful one. It is also much larger than Gordon. Most likely target: again Bermuda, though the possibility exists it could make the US coast. It would likely be an Atlantic coast threat, probably Carolinas or north, though a US hit at all is unlikely. Most likely the jet stream will curve it to the north and east as has been the case with siblings Florence and Gordon. But if Helene strengthens as predicted, that would make three hurricanes in a row which makes this a pretty active season...thankfully active for hurricanes not for disasters.
Bermuda Hurricane History
Since Bermuda seems to be on tap for another threat from would-be hurricane Helene, we'll reprise our storm perspective on the tiny British posession in the Atlantic. Long a relatively nearby but foreighn vacation destination for US travellers, Bermuda is a small target, but is well-prepared for hurricanes, with strict building codes and power and phone cables underground. Given its vulnerability in the Atlantic and having experienced the famed Havana-Bermuda Hurricane of 1926, Bermuda knows hurricanes. The 1926 storm was a late season hurricane that reached Category 4 strength. It hit Cuba at Cat 3, devastating Havana and making it one of the most deadly storms to ever hit Cuba. It weakened, passed across the Florida peninsula and then reintensified to Cat 4 and hit Bermuda dead on. 88 people were killed there. A total of 738 people lost their lives to the storm on its trek through Cuba, the Bahamas and Bermuda. The damage estimate was $1 billion current dollars in total.
The last decent size hurricane to hit Bermuda was Fabian in 2003. It killed 4 and did $300 million in damage. |
