Hanna slowly organizing, could pose a threat by late week

With all of the attention the past couple of days on Hurricane Gustav, we now need to begin keeping a closer eye on our next threat, Tropical Storm Hanna. 

As of late Sunday night, Hanna’s winds have increased to near 50 mph as the storm moves to the west-northwest.  Over the next few days, Hanna’s forward motion will slow as upper-level steering currents weaken dramatically over the southwest Atlantic.  This will allow Hanna to meander erratically, but generally in a westward motion, near the Bahamas through early week. 

By mid-week, steering flow is forecast to increase and pull the storm faster to the north or west.  As this steering pattern develops, conditions are also likely to become more favorable for strengthening and Hanna will likely become a hurricane by Thursday or Friday.  Based off of the latest track from the National Hurricane Center, the Lowcountry is now in the so-called “cone of uncertainty” as we head toward the end of the week.  With that being said, there remains much uncertainty around the eventual track and intensity of Tropical Storm Hanna.  As we move toward mid-week, we will be able to better assess the threat to the southeast coast.