Taiwan's Tropical Threat, Ian Forms in the Atlantic

It's September, and we expect the tropics to be active this time of year. We are in the peak of Hurricane Season in the Atlantic, and we do have some activity to watch. But, we start (as our title suggests) in the western Pacific.

SUPER TYPHOON MERANTI

Now, since we are in the western north Pacific (north of the Equator, west of the International Date Line), hurricanes are known as "typhoons." "Super typhoons" are typhoons with winds of 150 mph or greater (equivalent to an upper end Category 4 or Category 5 hurricane). Here is the latest advisory information from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center:

As of 7 AM CDT (12Z) this morning, STY Meranti was located near 18.9N, 128.2E. Meranti was moving WNW at 14 mph. Maximum sustained winds were at 180 mph (equivalent to a powerful Category 5 hurricane). Meranti is expected to move WNW toward southern Taiwan and potentially make landfall as a Super Typhoon with winds of 155 mph. Very heavy rain (especially with mountain influence) and potentially catastrophic winds are possible as Meranti moves very near or over Taiwan. Meranti is then expected to continue moving into mainland China.

HURRICANE ORLENE

This is Hurricane Orlene in the eastern Pacific. Right now, Orlene is well away from land and isn't expected to impact land over the next several days. Here is the latest advisory information from the National Hurricane Center:

SUMMARY OF 800 AM PDT...1500 UTC...INFORMATION
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LOCATION...17.4N 119.3W
ABOUT 720 MI...1155 KM WSW OF THE SOUTHERN TIP OF BAJA CALIFORNIA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...90 MPH...150 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 320 DEGREES AT 6 MPH...9 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...980 MB...28.94 INCHES

Orlene will continue drifting northward through Tuesday before making a turn back to the west by Wednesday, and also will slowly weaken back to tropical storm status.

TROPICAL STORM IAN

Advisories were initiated on Tropical Storm Ian at 10 AM CDT Monday morning. On satellite, you see the center is exposed on the southwestern side of the convection. This is because Ian is on the west side of an upper-level trough, and is being sheared. Here is the latest advisory information from the National Hurricane Center:

SUMMARY OF 1100 AM AST...1500 UTC...INFORMATION
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LOCATION...21.8N 50.4W
ABOUT 1140 MI...1840 KM SE OF BERMUDA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...40 MPH...65 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 320 DEGREES AT 13 MPH...20 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1007 MB...29.74 INCHES

Right now, Ian is not expected to become a hurricane, but it could get close. Thankfully, Ian looks to remain away from land throughout its lifetime.

INVEST 93L

Now, the path of 93L looks somewhat ominous, taking it over the Florida Peninsula, but I can assure you it's not as bad as it looks. 93L looks very ragged:

There is no sign of a closed surface circulation. Plus, the showers and thunderstorms are very disorganized. The National Hurricane Center gives 93L only a 10% chance of developing over the next 5 days. The main impact will be heavy rain over the Bahamas and parts of Florida. Increased moisture will lead to higher rain chances across portions of the Southeast as well.

Remember to always be prepared as we continue through Hurricane Season.