Cuba Reports Birth of Tropical Storm Katia

TS Katia at 6 a.m. on August 30th. Graphic: INSMET

HAVANA TIMES, August 30 — Tropical Storm Katia was born southwest of the Cape Verde Islands on Monday. It is the eleventh TS in the current season that ends on Nov. 30th, notes the Cuban Weather Service (INSMET) on Tuesday.

Katia packs 40 mph (65 kph) winds and is moving swiftly on a west-northwest track at 17 mph (28 kph).

At 6:00 a.m. EDT, the Cuban weather experts located the center of the storm at 690 miles (1,115 kilometers) southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.

INSMET predicts that the storm will gradually increase its speed and gain in both intensity and organization in the coming 24-48 hours as it moves on a west-northwest track, possibly becoming a hurricane by late Wednesday or Thursday.

Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami is predicting that Katia could become a major hurricane with 110 mph (175 kph) by Sunday, on a course that would take it north of the Caribbean.

In their initial projection cones, neither the NHC or INSMET sees the storm being a threat to Cuba.

The next TS advisory from the Cuban forecasters will come at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.