Miami, Florida—(ENEWSPF)—September 6, 2011 – UPDATE 5 AM AST. The National Hurricane Center reports that major Hurricane Katia is moving steadily northwestward. Dangerous rip currents remain the main hazard along the U.S. east coast and Bermuda.
There are no coastal Watches or Warnings currently in effect.
Discussion and 48-hour Outlook
At 5 AM AST (0900 UTC), the center of Hurricane Katia was located near latitude 26.5 north, longitude 65.1 west. Katia is moving toward the northwest near 10 mph (17 km/h). This general motion is expected to continue through Wednesday, followed by a turn toward the north-northwest by Thursday.
Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 125 mph (205 km/h) with higher gusts. Katia is a Category Three Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in strength are possible during the next 24 hours followed by slow weakening.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km)from the center, and Tropical-Storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles (335 km).
Estimated minimum central pressure is 950 mb (28.05 inches).
Hazards Affecting Land
Large swells generated by Katia will continue to affect most of the east coast of the United States, Bermuda, the Greater Antilles, and east-facing beaches of the Bahamas during the next few days. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult products from your Local Weather Service Office for additional information.
Surface Wind Field
Click image to zoom in ![[Image of initial wind radii]](http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT12/refresh/AL1211R_sm2+gif/083314R_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
