-
Sep 9, 2007 1:23 pm US/Eastern
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
Tropical Storm Gabrielle Will Spare Tri-State Area
Storm Expected To Head Back Out To Sea
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Subtropical Storm Gabrielle is expected to graze the North Caolina coast Sunday. But according to CBS2 HD meteorologist Jason Cali, the storm will head back out to sea sparing much of the Tri-State area.
"We've been concerned about this storm for a week now, knowing that it would be a tough call how close it would come to our area," Cali says. "I think we can now safely say that Gabrielle will pass about 250 miles to the Southeast of the Tri-State. And that's far enough that the storm will have very little impact on our area."
According to CBS2 HD tropical expert Lonnie Quinn, "The track of this system was key, because unlike a tropical storm, a subtropical storm tends to have its strongest winds up to 200 miles away from the center of the storm." Quinn adds "So if this storm was to pass 100 miles closer to shore, this would have been a whole different story."
As it stands right now, Gabrielle's main impact will probably be to add some tropical moisture and humidity to a cold front set to move across the area on Monday. "We could see one to two inches of rain in some areas on Monday, not directly from Gabrielle, but from the extra heat and moisture in the area from the nearby storm," said Cali.
This rain would be particularly beneficial because, after one of the wettest summers on record, the weather pattern has gone suddenly dry.
As of Saturday afternoon, New York City has gone for 17 straight days, the longest such stretch in more than five years, and one of the longest runs ever for the Big Apple. The record for consecutive days with no rain in New York City is 31 days, set back in 1924.
According to the National Hurricane Center, a subtropical storm has winds of at least 39 mph, but less than 74 mph. A tropical storm warning for North Carolina was issued Saturday, and tropical storm watch had been added northward to Cape Charles, Virginia.
Gabrielle is expected to strengthen on Sunday before approaching the U.S. coast on Sunday, and could batter the Outer Banks of North Carolina with winds of over 60 mph. Meanwhile, the greatest risk to our area is not strong winds or heavy rains, but strong rip currents and beach erosion.
Gabrielle will make its closet approach to the Tri-State area on Monday.
Stay tuned to CBS 2 HD, or log onto wcbstv.com for the latest updates on the tropics.
CBS 2 and wcbstv.com will continue to monitor the progress of this system. For the latest weather updates,
click here.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)