Hurricane Gert, the second hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, will continue to move well off to the north and east and won’t have any impact on the United States.
- Gert has maximum sustained winds of 105 mph
- Gert expected to weaken by Thursday night
- FULL COVERAGE: Storm Season 2017: Forecast models, links and resources
As of 11 p.m. ET Wednesday, the center of Hurricane Gert was about 410 miles southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia and 525 miles south-southwest from Cape Race, Newfoundland.
Gert is moving toward the east-northeast at 37 mph.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to 105 mph with higher gusts, making the system a Category 2 hurricane.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the center. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles from the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 967 mb.
Gert is expected to weaken rapidly as it moves into cooler north Atlantic waters over the next few days.
The system will be capable of creating rough surf and enhanced rip currents across Virginia and up through New England into Atlantic Canada.
3 other areas of disturbances we're watching in the tropics
There are still three other areas of disturbances we are watching in the tropics.
The first is an area of low pressure located 800 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. It has become a little more defined. Shower and storm activity is displaced to the west of the center of circulation. This system is moving to the west at 15-20 mph and is forecast to cross into the Caribbean Sea by Friday.
Upper-level dynamics will allow for conditions to become a bit more conducive for further tropical development and should be monitored by interests in the Lesser Antilles. An Air Force Reserve reconnaissance aircraft is scheduled to investigate this system tomorrow if necessary.
A second area of low pressure we are watching is producing some disorganized thunderstorm activity 800 miles to the west of the Cabo Verde Islands. Environmental conditions could be conducive for some slow development throughout the next few days as it moves to the west-northwest across the Atlantic. However, upper-level dynamics are expected to be less conducive for development by the time we move into the weekend.
The third area we are monitoring is a tropical wave over western Africa that is expected to emerge over the Atlantic Ocean sometime today into tomorrow. Conditions seem generally conducive for some further tropical development as it moves to the west-northwest across the Atlantic at 15-20 mph over the next several days.
None of them will be close enough to impact the eclipse.
