Earl!

Major Hurricane Earl is now starting to hint at making a more Northerly turn. This turn is key for us as it will determine how close to the East coast this storm will get.

Right now our area should be prepared for strong gusty winds, heavy rain and tides running above normal from late Friday to late Saturday. The closer to the coast you live the more likely it is that you will see an impact from the storm.

Currently Earl has maximum sustained winds at 135mph. This puts him up at a category 4 storm capable of severe damage. As a comparison Hurricane Andrew was a category 5 when he came ashore to the South of Miami, and Katrina was a category 3 storm when she came ashore near New Orleans 5 years ago. Both of these hits were direct. Right now we should just get swiped by the Western-side of this storm. This is generally not the strongest part of a hurricane or tropical storm. The North-East quadrant is where ther strongest winds and storm surge generally occur.

At this point we will keep a very close eye to see a clear turn to the North which will help clear up the exact track of Earl.

Joe Punday and Linda Church