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Tropical storm formsBy DAVID BALLINGRUD
© St. Petersburg Times, A depression off the coast of Nicaragua strengthened late Wednesday into Tropical Storm Michelle, and forecasters said that two vast spinning wheels of air may deliver the storm to the doorstep of the Gulf of Mexico by the weekend. After that, Michelle's plans are up in the air, so to speak. The first big wheel of air is a ridge of high pressure over the central Caribbean, turning clockwise. The second is a trough of low pressure over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, turning counter-clockwise. National Hurricane Center forecaster Dan Brown said the storm will squeeze between the two wheels and follow a northerly track toward the Gulf of Mexico through Saturday. Computer models don't agree on what the system will do next, he said. "It is too early to speculate if any portion of the United States will be threatened by this system," said hurricane specialist Jack Bevin. "Stay tuned." Late Wednesday the system had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was moving north at 3 mph. Its center was near 15.6 degrees north latitude and 83.0 degrees west longitude. Forecasters said Michelle could quickly strengthen into a hurricane.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
