Atlantic Hurricane Season Getting Interesting

NOAA Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook

Not the storm you are looking for?  Click Image or Here

Late August through the end of October is the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane season.  The last several days have been very active.  NHC issuing advisories on Hurricane DANIELLE and Hurricane EARL

The satellite image above shows two tropical cyclones which we are watching and one potential storm.
Please see the following blog posts for complete details on these storms. 
Major Hurricane Danielle Near Bermuda
Tropical Storm Earl Expected to Become Hurricane

The cruise lines are monitoring these storms and have issued statements.  The only cruise line that has made changes is Norwegian Cruise Line.   See the above links for details.

800 PM EDT SAT AUG 28 2010

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...

THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER IS ISSUING ADVISORIES ON HURRICANE
DANIELLE...LOCATED ABOUT 330 MILES EAST-SOUTHEAST OF BERMUDA...AND
ON TROPICAL STORM EARL...LOCATED ABOUT 570 MILES EAST OF THE
NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS.

A BROAD LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM...ASSOCIATED WITH A VIGOROUS TROPICAL
WAVE...IS LOCATED ABOUT 500 MILES WEST OF THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS. 
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE RECENTLY INCREASED NEAR THE
CENTER...AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR A
TROPICAL DEPRESSION TO FORM LATER TONIGHT OR SUNDAY.  THERE
IS A HIGH CHANCE...80 PERCENT...OF THIS SYSTEM BECOMING A TROPICAL
CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS AS IT MOVES WESTWARD TO WEST-
NORTHWESTWARD AT ABOUT 20 MPH.

What is a hurricane?
A low pressure over warm water causes tropical depressions which, if conditions are correct, will form into a hurricane.   Many of the hurricanes at this time of year form off the coast of Cape Verde, Africa.   That is where these storms have formed.

There is another tropical storm behind label "1" in the graphic above.  If you are cruising in the Atlantic in the near future, you'll want to keep watch on all of these storms.  We will continue to monitor the storms as they develop and provide updates here.

UPDATE: 

200 PM EDT SUN AUG 29 2010

ALTHOUGH THE CIRCULATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE AREA OF LOW PRESSURE
LOCATED MIDWAY BETWEEN THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA AND THE LESSER
ANTILLES HAS BECOME BETTER DEFINED TODAY...RECENT SATELLITE DATA
INDICATE THAT IT DOES NOT YET APPEAR TO HAVE A WELL-DEFINED
CENTER...AND THE ASSOCIATED SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY HAS
BECOME LESS ORGANIZED OVER THE PAST FEW HOURS.  HOWEVER...ONLY A
SMALL INCREASE IN ORGANIZATION COULD RESULT IN THE FORMATION OF A
TROPICAL DEPRESSION...AND THERE IS A HIGH CHANCE...80 PERCENT...OF
THIS SYSTEM BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS AS
IT MOVES GENERALLY WESTWARD AT ABOUT 20 MPH.

Major Hurricane Danielle Near Bermuda

5-Day Forecast Cone for Hurricane Danielle (Credit: NOAA NHC)

Click for Current 5-Day Graphic

UPDATE: 500 AM AST MON AUG 30 2010

...DANIELLE WEAKENING AND QUICKLY LOSING TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS
OVER THE FAR NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN...  

500 PM AST SAT AUG 28 2010

...DANIELLE WEAKENING A LITTLE...EXPECTED TO PASS WELL EAST
OF BERMUDA LATER TONIGHT...
 

DANIELLE MAINTAINING CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE STRENGTH
Expected to Weaken Monday, August 30th

Norwegian Cruise Line modifies itineraries (see below) 

Carnival Cruise Line modifies Carnival Pride 

& Carnival Victory itineraries (see below)

Tropical Depression 6 formed in the Central Atlantic about a week ago and at that time was 600 miles west-southwest of Cape Verde Islands.  A couple days later it was a named Tropical Storm and then a Category One hurricane.    It has continued to strengthen and as a Category Four hurricane, it is approaching Bermuda's coastline.  This is a very powerful storm at the present time.   It appears that the storm might move away from Bermuda and weaken.

NHC issuing advisories on Hurricane DANIELLE, TS EARL and TS FRANK

As a service to our readers, we have RSS feeds from the NHC which can provide up to date information about these tropical storms.   We will also monitor the cruise lines for any itinerary changes as a result of the storms.

Current Watches & Warnings

Update 28Aug... AT 5 PM AST...THE BERMUDA WEATHER SERVICE HAS DISCONTINUED THE
TROPICAL STORM WATCH FOR BERMUDA.

THERE ARE NO COASTAL WATCHES OR WARNINGS IN EFFECT.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN 36 HOURS.

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 48 HOURS.

Discussion & Outlook
 

SUMMARY OF 500 AM AST...0900 UTC...INFORMATION (30Aug)

LOCATION...40.4N 52.0W
ABOUT 440 MI...705 KM S OF CAPE RACE NEWFOUNDLAND
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...75 MPH...120 KM/HR
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NE OR 40 DEGREES AT 17 MPH...28 KM/HR
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...984 MB...29.06 INCHES

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 75 MPH...120 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS.  DANIELLE IS STILL A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE...BUT ADDITIONAL WEAKENING IS
FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.  DANIELLE IS EXPECTED TO LOSE
ITS TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS LATER TODAY...AND BECOME A LARGE AND
POWERFUL EXTRATROPICAL CYCLONE OVER THE COLD WATERS OF THE NORTH
ATLANTIC.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 85 MILES...140 KM...FROM
THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 310
MILES...500 KM.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 984 MB...29.06 INCHES.

Bermuda Weather Forecast 

 

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND

SURF...LARGE WAVES AND DANGEROUS SURF CONDITIONS WILL AFFECT BERMUDA
OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS.  SWELLS FROM DANIELLE WILL BEGIN TO ARRIVE
ON THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES LATER TODAY.  THESE SWELLS
ARE LIKELY TO CAUSE DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS THROUGH THE WEEKEND.
PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.

 

 Cruise Line Advisories

Carnival Tropical Weather Update

August 29, 2010 – 12:30PM

We are closely monitoring the two tropical systems (Danielle and Earl) that have formed in the Atlantic.  Rest assured, all of our ships will continue to operate at a safe distance from the storms.

The Carnival Pride will change it's itinerary now visiting Port Canaveral, Nassau, and Freeport.  In addition, the Carnival Victory will change the sequence of ports and will cancel St. Maarten. 

All of Carnival’s other ships are operating the scheduled itineraries.

We will update this information on Carnival.com if any new information becomes available.  Most importantly, we look forward to welcoming our guests onboard this weekend.




August 27, 2010 – 6PM

We are closely monitoring the two tropical systems (Danielle and Earl) that have formed in the Atlantic.  All of our ships are now operating a safe distance from the storms and performing the scheduled itineraries.  In addition, we are not anticipating any significant itinerary changes for our cruises departing from any of our Florida or East Coast home ports this weekend.

Royal Caribbean Tropical Weather Update

Due to Earl:  Oasis of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas are sailing modified itineraries at the present time
 (See our Hurricane Earl post for details)

August 23, 2010 4:00 p.m. E.S.T

At this time, Royal Caribbean International is closely monitoring the path and progress of Tropical Storm Danielle to ensure guests enjoy safe and comfortable cruises, and to make certain our ships steer clear of the storm. The safety of our guests and crew is always the foremost concern of Royal Caribbean International.

Given Tropical Storm Danielle's current location and projected path, Royal Caribbean has not altered the itineraries of any ships. Royal Caribbean will continue to closely monitor weather conditions and will update this information if there are any changes to the storms' projected path.

Norwegian Cruise Line Weather Alert 


Updated August 28 at 9 am ET
At Norwegian Cruise Line, the safety and security of our guests and crew is of the utmost importance. Therefore, the company is closely monitoring the paths of both Hurricane Danielle and Tropical Storm Earl.

Because of the storms, we are modifying the following itineraries:
Norwegian Spirit’s arrival time into Bermuda, currently scheduled for 11 am on Sunday, August 29, will be dependent on the speed and the path of the storm, and will most likely be delayed until Monday morning, August 30.

Norwegian Epic will depart Miami today as scheduled. The ship will call into Cozumel, Mexico and Roatan, Honduras in place of Phillipsburg, St. Maarten and St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. The ship’s call into Nassau on Friday has been extended.

Norwegian Dawn will depart New York as scheduled on Sunday, August 29. We are continuing to monitor the storm and there is a possibility of an itinerary change depending on the storm’s path.

Guests on board the vessels will be kept up to date by the ship’s Captain. It is also important to note that we will continue to closely monitor the storm and if the path changes, we may need to modify these itineraries.
We appreciate our guests understanding. As soon as there is further information, we will update NCL.com and notify our guests.

Tropical Storm Resources (click links below)
Hurricane DANIELLE	National Hurricane Center
Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook	National Weather Service
Atlantic Tropical Weather Discussion	Hurricane Preparedness
Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook (ATL)	Real-Time Hurricane Information
Active Storms	NOAA Satellites & Information
NASA: Latest Storm Images	WMO Severe Weather Information Centre
Real-time Monitoring (Atlantic)	The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
Real-time Weather Sites	Real-Time Cruise Ship Tracking