Hurricane Otto forms over the Atlantic Ocean, aims for the Azores

[News_Editor]

Hurricane Otto forms over the Atlantic Ocean, aims for the Azores

2010-10-08 22:07:17 GMT+7 (ICT)

MIAMI (BNO NEWS) -- Otto strengthened from a tropical storm into the eighth hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season on late Friday morning, forecasters said.

As of 11 a.m. EDT on Friday, the center of Hurricane Otto was located about 715 kilometers (445 miles) south of the British overseas territory of Bermuda. The storm was moving toward the east-northeast near 28 kilometers (17 miles) per hour, bringing it further away from the Caribbean islands.

"Satellite images indicate that Otto is steadily increasing in organization," said Todd Kimberlain, a hurricane specialist at the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. "The cyclone has developed a well defined and large central dense overcast during the last six to twelve hours, with a curved band over the southeast quadrant attached to the main convective mass."

As of late Friday morning, Otto had maximum sustained winds near 120 kilometers (75 miles) per hour, with higher gusts. "The ships model output indicates that Otto should remain in a generally light shear environment during the next 24 hours and over marginally warm waters," Kimberlain said. "Both of which should lead to some additional intensification."

But despite the forecast strengthening, Otto is not expected to strengthen into a category two hurricane. Kimberlain said that on Saturday, Otto should start to weaken. "Weakening should occur as Otto encounters a rapid increase in southwesterly shear and moves over progressively cooler waters."

Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 35 kilometers (25 miles) from the center, while tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 315 kilometers (195 miles), the center said.

Kimberlain said that heavy rainfall is possible in the Northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the eastern Dominican Republic on Friday as a result of the hurricane. "These rains could produce life-threatening flash floods and mud slides," he warned.

On the forecast track, Otto is expected move on a northeastward course through Monday, embedded in a sift southwesterly flow associated with a deep layer trough covering the northwest Atlantic. "Beyond about 72 hours, Otto is expected to separate from the mid-latitude southwesterly flow and turn eastward and then southeastward on the west side of a trough over the northeast Atlantic and Western Europe," Kimberlain added.

The current forecast track would bring Otto close to the Azores, where it could possibly make landfall as a post-tropical storm. However, as Kimberlain notes, this forecast is subject to change.

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