Hurricane Ike Pressure, Wind Disagreement
Without even looking at the current weather pattern, I can tell you that Ike is going to undergo some rapid "strengthening" today, though it may only be on paper. As a commenter pointed out yesterday, the NHC's pressure readings are far below what they should be for the equivalent winds.
This morning they are quoting 959 mb, which is a solid Category 3 according to WikiPedia. But without finding winds over 75 knots at their most recent recon mission this morning, they have to still call it a Category 1 (according to the rules, which dictate that the winds drive the classification). Maybe the winds just haven't caught up with the pressure yet - on satellite I have to admit it doesn't look as strong as a Cat 3. My guess is, later today, they will find much higher winds, and Ike will pop up to a Cat 2 or 3.
The image above shows the track of the plane this morning, along with the wind speed observations. Note that these observations are flight-level, so surface winds have to be estimated, and are always lower (that's why you see a Cat 2 dot).
AccuWeather.com Professional's Joe Bastardi [BIO] (PRO USERS READ NOW | 30-DAY FREE TRIAL) said in his blog:
LIVE SATELLITE OF "IKE" (PREMIUM | PRO) | BUOY/SHIP OBS | CUBA RADAR (NEW!)
Here's a look at Ike on Satellite at 7:45 AM:
