Earl Headed Toward New England

Just before 11am Friday, Earl was roughly 150 southeast of Ocean City and moving to the northeast. Tropical Storm Warnings have been in effect for the DELMARVA coast but most of the wind gusts since daybreak have been barely at or below Tropical Storm strength.

The morning visibe satellite image shows that Earl has weakened to the point that the eye of the storm has filled in with clouds. West of the eye, a thick outer cloud band is positioned over the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay and radar has shown that a few sprinkles or light rain showers have fallen over that area. The more significant rains from the storm have fallen well to the south and southeast of Baltimore. Radar estimates of rain in the 3-5 inch range are indicated between Richmond and Williamsburg with less than an inch over most of the lower eastern shore.

At 11am Friday, Earl was downgraded to a Category 1 Hurricane with winds of 85 mph. Earl is expected to pass just east of Cape Cod overnight as a Category 1 Hurricane and coastal New England is expected to experience Tropical Storm Force winds. By the time Earl reaches the Canadian Maritime Provinces it should be a Tropical Storm.

A look at the big, blue marble shows the low pressure system and trailing cold front in the Midwest that is deflecting Earl to the east.

Tropical Storm Fiona is just to the south-southeast of Earl. Fiona is expected to pass over or near Bermuda later tonight or Saturday morning.

The remnant of Gaston is identified by the disorganized cloud mass over the central Atlantic. Gaston could very likely regenerate into a depression, storm or hurricane and will likely head toward the Caribbean Islands.

Other clouds masses are evident off the West African Coast and over the African desert. These waves are moving westward and have the potential for tropical cyclone development. It could be a busy few weeks.

John Collins