Hurricane Igor

Pre-Landfall 2 | Summary
Posting Date: September 17, 2010, 8:45:00 AM

Hurricane Igor weakened last night as it continues to churn towards Bermuda. As of the NHC’s 11:00 AM EDT advisory, Igor is located approximately 695 miles south-southeast of Bermuda, moving to the northwest at 9 mph. A Category 3 major hurricane, Igor packs maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, but some further weakening is possible prior to passing Bermuda. By Sunday morning, Igor is expected to become embedded within a west-southwesterly flow, which will steer the storm to the north and later to the northeast with increased forward speed. According to the NHC’s official forecast track, Igor will pass just east of Bermuda late Sunday night or early Monday morning. Igor is a very large storm with hurricane and tropical force winds extending outward up to 105 miles and 290 miles, respectively, from the center, placing Bermuda at risk to high winds and dangerous swells. Several cruise lines have changed the courses of their ships heading to Bermuda in the next few days, and Bermuda has closed its ports from Friday through Monday. Officials have urged the public to prepare in advance of Igor’s arrival by securing homes and outdoor furniture. Homes in Bermuda are typically one or two stories and constructed of “Bermuda Stone,” a locally quarried limestone, or of concrete blocks. Roofs are commonly made of limestone slate tiles cemented together. Commercial buildings, typically of reinforced concrete construction, rarely exceed six stories. In both residential and commercial buildings, window openings are generally small and window shutters are common. These features make Bermuda’s building stock quite resistant to winds, and homes are designed to withstand sustained winds of 110 mph and gusts of up to 150 mph. The last storm of comparable strength to affect Bermuda was Hurricane Fabian in 2003, which caused an estimated $300 million in damage. With sustained wind speeds of 120 mph, Fabian downed trees and power lines, ripped off roofs, and brought large waves that caused damage to the coastline.

Pre-Landfall 2 | Downloads
Posting Date: September 17, 2010, 8:45:00 AM