Gordon Trying to Become a Major Hurricane
By Quincy Vagell on August 18, 2012, 6:30pm
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Hurricane Gordon now has sustained winds of 105 MPH.
Gordon, which is relatively far northeast in the Atlantic, continued to show some signs of strengthening today. The satellite images show a more well-defined eye, even though the storm is showing signs of shearing across its north and northeast side.
As of 5 p.m. Saturday, Gordon was a strong Category 2 hurricane, with winds of 105 MPH. If the storm can strengthen just a bit, and feature winds over 110 MPH, it could temporarily become a major hurricane.
Typically, storms this far northeast begin to weaken rapidly. This is expected.
Although Gordon is over marginally warm waters (for tropical development now), as it moves east-northeast towards the Azores, the waters do become progressively cooler. Also, an upper level trough is digging into the area. As this trough interacts with Gordon, the storm will lose a lot of its warm-core, tropical characteristics.
Hurricane Gordon should begin to weaken overnight or by tomorrow.
Once that weakening starts, it should happen rather quickly. High wind shear values, lower water temperatures, interaction with an upper-level trough and an eventual approach to land, will all cause Gordon to lose all tropical characteristics by early this upcoming week.
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