Why Hurricane Humberto may have an impact on Tropical Storm Imelda
The Atlantic has been busy over the weekend, as Hurricane Humberto was deemed a major hurricane on September 26th once it reached category 3 strength by the afternoon hours. The next day, September 27th, it rapidly strengthened to a category 5 hurricane. This storm was producing sustained winds up to 160 mph. As of today, Humberto remains a category 4 hurricane, producing sustained winds of up to 140 mph and continuing to move north slowly. This storm is not expected to make direct landfall on the East Coast, but it could impact another tropical storm that has been ongoing just to the southwest of Humberto.
Tropical Storm Imelda is this Tropical Storm, which started near the Bahamas yesterday and has since slowly moved further north of the Bahamas. During this lifespan of the storm, it has been producing sustained winds up to 60 mph. It is expected to reach category 1 strength by tomorrow morning, then further strengthen into a category 2 hurricane by Wednesday. If Hurricane Humberto were not present, this storm would be more likely to make landfall in the United States and have more widespread impacts.
There are two reasons behind why the presence of Hurricane Humberto is leading to Tropical Storm Imelda avoiding direct landfall on the East Coast. The first reason is the proximity of each of these storms are in with one another. These hurricanes act like smaller-scale low-pressure systems, so they often have their own cyclonic circulations that reach into the upper levels of the atmosphere. The closer two of these systems are to one another, the more impact each circulation will have on the other and their paths.
The second reason is the strength of each of these systems. Hurricane Humberto is set to sustain at least category 2-3 strength for at least another 24 hours, while Tropical Storm Imelda will reach category 1 strength during this time period. This means that Humberto will be much stronger and, in turn, have a much greater influence on Imelda's path as these two storms continue to move closer to one another.
Hurricane Humberto will take a much more typical path of a hurricane, and Imelda will take a more unique path because of this reasoning. Humberto will move to the northwest over the next 24 hours before then beginning to take on an easterly track as it nears Bermuda by Wednesday morning. Hurricane Imelda will take a much more sudden easterly shift as it gets caught up in Humberto's upper-level flow. Instead of still holding a northerly track and shifting closer to the East Coast, it will quickly take on an easterly track toward Bermuda.
Although these storms will not make direct landfall in the United States, they will still have an impact on coastal areas. They will bring dangerous surf and rip currents to the East Coast over the next couple of days. Heavy rainfall will also make it into the coastal Carolinas, which could lead to isolated flash and urban flooding.
