Joaquin, the 10th named storm of the season, formed off the Atlantic coast on Monday.
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Hurricane warnings have been issued for the Central Bahamas. Marty’s maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 35 miles per hour and the storm is forecast to weaken later Wednesday or Thursday.
The cyclone Joaquin strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic on Wednesday morning, poised to pound the central Bahamas with heavy rain and risky storm surges in the next day.
A general motion toward the west-southwest or southwest is expected to continue through tonight, the service said. They expect it to turn north Thursday, as it slows down.
At 11 a.m., the storm was located 215 miles east, northeast of the central Bahamas moving to the south, southwest about 6 mph.
Hurricane Joaquin took shape Wednesday morning as the storm system neared the Bahamas.
The NHC warned that its wind speed predictions for Joaquin were conservative and that “the guidance suggests that Joaquin could become a hurricane in a few days”. If the storm tracks toward the middle of the cone, with landfall in New Jersey or Long Island, high winds, in addition to heavy rain would be expected. “There’s no question”, said Eric Blake, a hurricane specialist with the center.
A cold front expected to cross the region today from the Great Lakes will drop temperatures into the 70s on Thursday, but also is expected to bring heavy rain this afternoon.
“Confidence in the details of the track forecast late in the period remains very low, since the environmental steering currents are complex and not being handled in a consistent manner by the models”.
The central Bahamas is under a hurricane warning as Hurricane Joaquin approaches, and people on the Atlantic Coast should keep an eye on the approaching storm.
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NBC10 First Alert Weather meteorologist Bill Henley is tracking Joaquin and how it could impact our area in the coming days.
