Omar Strengthens Suddenly, Approaches Islands

I said in my blog earlier today that nothing seemed threatening in the Caribbean. The Model Spread [JessePedia] showed nothing more than a Tropical Storm moving towards Puerto Rico and the islands at 12Z (8 AM). But then at 18Z (4 PM) they suddenly started showing a Category 1, 2, even 3 Hurricane! Here is the latest:

The NHC [JessePedia] followed up with this statement at 4:30 PM: "...OMAR RAPIDLY INTENSIFIES TO NEAR HURRICANE STRENGTH..." The interesting thing here is that this will be an approach from the Southwest, something islanders probably aren't used to because it's rare. The NHC went on to say: "OMAR IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE LARGE SWELLS THAT WILL AFFECT THE WEST- AND SOUTH-FACING COASTS OF ALL OF THE ISLANDS OF THE LESSER ANTILLES. THESE PROLONGED SWELLS COULD CAUSE BEACH EROSION AND DAMAGE TO COASTAL STRUCTURES."

The latest satellite shot shows some very impressive clouds, as cold as the negative 120's Fahrenheit (indicating extreme heights). Unfortunately, there aren't any buoys near him.