Brazil braces for storm, but unsure if it's a hurricane

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - A large storm spiraled toward the Brazilian coast Saturday, but Brazilian and U.S. meteorologists disagreed on whether it was a hurricane.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Florida estimated the storm was a full-fledged Category I hurricane with winds of between 75 and 80 mph, making it the first hurricane spotted in the South Atlantic.

Brazilian scientists disagreed, however, saying the storm had top winds of 50 to 56 mph, far below the 75 mph threshold of a hurricane.

The U.S. forecasters said the worst part of the storm would hit Brazil by early today somewhere between the cities of Florianopolis and Porto Allegre, a span of about 130 miles. The Brazilians said the storm could peter out before then.

Both sides said they were basing their estimates on satellite data, since the United States has no hurricane hunter airplanes in the area and Brazil doesn't own one.

Satellite images showed a spiral-shaped mass of clouds with an open area in the center. Meteorologist Dr. Gustavo Escobar of the Brazilian Center for Weather Prediction and Climatic Studies called it an "extra-tropical cyclone."

The outer edges of the storm brushed the coast of Brazil's southern Santa Catarina state early Saturday with winds estimated at about 25-30 mph and moderate rains, Escobar said. The area is about 430 miles south of Rio de Janeiro.

"Winds and rains will not be significant, so we don't need to alarm the population," Escobar said.

Winds in nearby Florianopolis, a city of 700,000, were only about 12 mph, rainfall was mild and no damage was reported, said meteorologist Kelen Andrade.

Jack Beven, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said the eye of the storm was near 29 degrees south latitude and 48 degrees west longitude by Saturday evening. That would place it about 50 miles east of the city of Laguna.

"To us, it has all the satellite appearance and intensity of a hurricane," Beven said. "I don't know what data they're looking at. They may have data services locally that don't go out on the national data service."

He said no agency is sending out regular hurricane advisories on the storm.

"Down there, this is such a rare and unique event. The whole situation is strange," Beven said. "We're trying to help out, but because of the uniqueness of this event, it may be out of their expertise to some degree."

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