Cuba Weather Forecasters on TS Igor
HAVANA TIMES, Sept. 8 — Tropical Storm Igor is still close to the northwest African coast but Cuba’s weather experts are already tracking its progress as it begins moving west. The storm formed quickly and at noon Wednesday was 155 kilometers southeast of the Cape Verde Islands, reports The Cuban Meteorological Institute.
Several successive storms, Danielle, Earl, Fiona, Gaston (which dissipated quickly) have formed in recent weeks in the Atlantic and all took a course to the north-northwest of the Caribbean.
Igor currently packs 72 kph (45 mph) winds and is the ninth storm to be given a name during the current hurricane season which continues until the end of November.
None of the storms came close to Cuba while Earl skirted the US eastern seaboard and took land in Nova Scotia, Canada.
The Cuban weather experts said that Igor should gain in organization and intensity in the coming 24 to 48 hours and also increase its speed as it moves west.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami shows Igor becoming a hurricane by Saturday.
I was able to enjoy Earl on vacation with my family on Prince Edward Island, Canada. The wind and clouds and rain were blowing westward in the late morning, everyone thought it was over mid afternoon but it was the eye of the storm, and the wind and clouds and rain were blowing eastward late afternoon. I couldn’t understand why the wind and clouds and rain had changed direction until I realized why hurricanes are sometimes called cyclones. Fortunately it was very humid and warm. I told the kids that we were experiencing Cuban weather that had blown north as they swam in the pool at the motel amid leaves and branches of surrounding trees.