Meteorologists have been closely monitoring a tropical storm in the Atlantic, which has now intensified into a category 4 hurricane.
Earlier in the week, weather experts in the U.S. provided updates about Tropical Storm Humberto, marking it as the eighth named tropical storm this year, due to its wind speeds reaching 34 knots.
Residents along the East Coast of the United States and in the Bahamas have been advised to stay informed about the storm’s progress over the weekend.
FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross emphasized the importance of staying updated, stating: “There are too many imaginable scenarios to enumerate, but the bottom line is that everyone in the Bahamas and along the East Coast from Florida to the mid-Atlantic should plan to stay informed this weekend.”
Humberto has now advanced to hurricane status, reaching category 4 as of September 26.
According to The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, a category 4 hurricane signifies that ‘catastrophic damage will occur’.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warns on its website that: “Well-built framed homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and/or some exterior walls.”
It further explains that: “Most trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.”
Though Hurricane Humberto is not predicted to make landfall, experts caution about potentially life-threatening rip currents due to its intensity.
The hurricane is producing strong windswells, which are anticipated to impact the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda, according to Newsweek.
Currently, there are no coastal warnings in the U.S., but warnings have been issued for the Central Bahamas, including areas such as Cat Island, the Exumas, Long Island, Rum Cay, and San Salvador, along with parts of the northwestern Bahamas, including Eleuthera, New Providence, the Abacos, Berry Islands, Andros Island, and Grand Bahama Island, as per the NHC.
The development of Humberto into a category 4 hurricane comes amid concerns of the ‘Fujiwhara Effect’ possibly occurring.
On Thursday, reports indicated that two storms—Hurricane Humberto and another now known as Potential Tropical Cyclone 9 (formerly Invest 94L)—were moving across the Atlantic, with the potential of interacting with each other.
This rare phenomenon can lead to several scenarios: the stronger hurricane absorbing the weaker one, both storms rotating around each other before going their separate ways, or merging into a single, more powerful storm.