Thaindian News

MIAMI (BNO NEWS) — Hurricane Danielle, located in the central Atlantic, strengthened into a category two storm on Tuesday but then unexpectedly weakened back to a category one hurricane as it approaches Bermuda, forecasters said.

The storm first formed as Tropical Depression Six about 580 miles (935 kilometers) west-southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands at around 5 p.m. EDT on Saturday. Around the same time on Sunday, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Danielle.

By 5 p.m. EDT on Monday, forecasters at the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said Danielle had reached hurricane intensity with maximum sustained winds near 75 miles (150 kilometers) per hour, and higher gusts.

On Tuesday morning, at around 5 a.m. EDT, the center said Danielle had further strengthened into a category two hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour. Although it was expected to strengthen, forecasters later said it had weakened back to a category one storm.

“The period of rapid intensification has ended with a thud,” forecaster Berg said. “The low-level center of Danielle has become exposed between a ragged central dense overcast to its east, and a broken convective band to its west. All along, microwave imagery since about 0300 UTC showed a dry slot wrapping around the western and southern side of the circulation, and as a result the eyewall has became eroded.”

As of 11 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Berg said Danielle’s maximum sustained winds were near 80 miles (130 kilometers) per hour, with higher gusts. Earlier on Tuesday, its maximum sustained winds were near 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour, with higher gusts.

It is uncertain how the hurricane will further develop, but Danielle may regain category two status during the next 48 hours. “Only slow strengthening is indicated in the official forecast, and the intensity at days four and five is held just below major hurricane strength to maintain some sort of continuity,” Berg said. “But this is now above many of the intensity models.”

As of 11 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Danielle is located about 985 miles (1585 kilometers) east of the Lesser Antilles. It is moving toward the west-northwest near 20 miles (32 kilometers) per hour, and a turn toward the northwest with a decrease in forward speed is expected by Thursday.

“Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 30 miles (45 kilometers) from the center, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 140 miles (220 kilometers),” Berg said said.

Although no land is currently being affected by Danielle, the storm may eventually pose a threat to the British overseas territory of Bermuda. The forecast has been uncertain, and updates previously showed the storm would just miss Bermuda.

However, the most recent update from the U.S. National Hurricane Center on Tuesday showed that the outer bands of Danielle may affect Bermuda on early Sunday morning.

Also on Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said showers and thunderstorms continue to become better organized in association with an area of low pressure passing about 100 miles south of the Cape Verde Islands. “It appears that a tropical depression could be forming,” forecaster Berg said.

“If this trend continues, advisories on this system could be initiated as early as later this morning,” Berg said. “There is a high chance, 90 percent, of this system becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours as it moves west-northwestward at near 15 miles per hour.”

Berg said locally heavy showers and strong gusty winds are possible over portions of the Cape Verde Islands on Tuesday, and advised residents in those islands to monitor the storm.

Danielle is the second hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. The first hurricane of the Atlantic season was Hurricane Alex, which emerged as a tropical wave off Western Africa on June 12. It developed into a tropical storm on June 26, and became a hurricane on June 29. The storm eventually made landfall as a category two hurricane in the Mexican municipality of Soto la Marina.

In all, at least 50 people were reported to have been killed as a result - both direct and indirect - of the storm. Others were reported missing.

The 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially began on June 1st and will end on November 30. So far, the season has seen two hurricanes, two tropical storms and two tropical depressions.

As for Danielle, it is the first time since 2004 that a tropical storm is named Danielle. In August 2004, Category 2 hurricane Danielle formed in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean but never affected land.