Hurricane Earl: Few Storms Were Cat 4 Off SE Coast
UPDATE: As of 5 PM, Hurricane Earl is now a Category 4 storm.
Several computer forecast models are predicting that Hurricane Earl will become a Category 4 storm, and the NHC gives is a 51% chance. When I tried to think back about Category 4 storms off the Southeast coast, I couldn't think of many.
NOTE: Stay tuned to my Facebook & Twitter feeds this week for new, cool images and info about Hurricane Earl.
Turns out, there have only been nine Category 4 storms in that area (no Category 5s) since 1966 according to the NOAA Hurricane GIS. This means the average return time for a hurricane of that strength is five years, so this is a big deal.
And there are some big names on that list: Diana in 1984, Gloria in '85, Hurricane Hugo from 1989, Floyd from '99 and Isabel from 2003. But then there are a few you've probably never heard of because they stayed offshore: Edouard and Hortense 1996 (which had a big impact in Puerto Rico), and Gladys 1975.
Read my earlier blog: How Big Will Hurricane Earl's Waves Get?
