INT: Gordon Heads for Europe

UPDATE (6 AM 9/19): Gordon has strengthened *again* and now is packing 100 mph sustained winds.

UPDATE (2 PM): Gordon has strengthened *again* and now is packing 90 mph sustained winds.

Hurricane Gordon is still packing 80 mph winds even though he's far in the North Atlantic, heading towards Europe. That's right, that's Spain on the right.

Although it's unlikely Gordon will still be officially classified as a hurricane by the time it reaches Europe, it could still pack a punch. The Model Spread [JessePedia] (see below) shows it tracking towards either Spain or the United Kingdom, and some suggest that he may loop back out to sea before hitting the U.K., something that is not unusual for low pressure systems in the Northern Atlantic as they get caught in the cogs of the upper-air flow.

You may recall, last October Tropical Storm Vince made landfall in Spain, the first time that a named tropical system had ever hit Europe.

However, looking at the WaveWatch Forecast Model [JessePedia] this morning, it believes that Gordon is going to be absorbed by a massive low pressure system to its north, before it even hits land. Below is a shot showing Gordon just before he gets assimilated Tuesday evening.