Miami, Florida—(ENEWSPF)—September 4, 2011 – UPDATE 11 AM AST. The National Hurricane Center is reporting that Katia has rapidly intensified and has been re-categorized as a Category 2 Hurricane.
There are no coastal watches or warnings currently in effect.
Discussion and 48-Hour Outlook
At 11 AM AST (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Katia was located near latitude 21.9 north, longitude 59.2 west. Katia is moving toward the northwest near 12 mph (19 km/h) and this general motion is expected to continue through Tuesday. On the forecast track, Katia will remain north of the northern Leeward Islands.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 100 mph (160 km/h) with higher gusts. Katia is a Category Two Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Additional strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days and Katia could become a major hurricane by Monday.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km). NOAA Buoy 41044 located just north of the center of Katia recently reported a sustained wind of 90 mph (144 km/h) and a gust to 107 mph (173 km/h).
The estimated minimum central pressure based on recent pressure reports from NOAA Buoy 41044 is 966 mb (28.53 inches).
Hazards Affecting Land
Swells generated by Katia are primarily affecting the northern Lesser Antilles but should begin to subside tonight or Monday. Swells could begin to affect Bermuda by early next week. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult products from your Local Weather Office.
urface Wind Field
Click image to zoom in ![[Image of initial wind radii]](http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT12/refresh/AL1211R_sm2+gif/145134R_sm.gif)
About this product:
This graphic shows the areas potentially being affected by the sustained winds of tropical storm force (in orange) and hurricane force (in red). The display is based on the wind radii contained in the latest Forecast/Advisory (indicated at the top of the figure). Users are reminded that the Forecast/Advisory wind radii represent the maximum possible extent of a given wind speed within particular quadrants around the tropical cyclone. As a result, not all locations falling within the orange or red shaded areas will be experiencing sustained tropical storm or hurricane force winds, respectively.
In addition to the wind field, this graphic shows an approximate representation of coastal areas under a hurricane warning (red), hurricane watch (pink), tropical storm warning (blue) and tropical storm watch (yellow). The white dot indicates the current position of the center of the tropical cyclone, and the dashed line shows the history of the center of the tropical cyclone.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov
