At 20 degrees north latitude, Tropical Storm Nadine is already far enough north to keep the territory out of harm’s way.
“We’re looking pretty safe here,” Brian Seeley, a National Weather Service meteorologist in San Juan, said Wednesday.
The coordinates for St. Thomas are 18.3 degrees north latitude and 65 degrees west longitude. Those for St. Croix are 17.7 degrees north latitude and 64.8 degrees west latitude. St. John sits at 18.2 degrees north latitude and 64.5 degrees west longitude.
East-northeast swells starting around daybreak Friday will be an issue, but Seeley said they’ll reach only 4 to 6 feet in the outer waters. He expects them to stick around through Saturday and probably into early Sunday.
At its closest point, Nadine will pass about 840 miles to the northeast of St. John as a hurricane at about 8 p.m. Thursday.
Nadine got a name Tuesday night after spending part of the day as Tropical Depression 14. Forecasters expect the storm to reach hurricane status Wednesday night or Thursday.
As of the 5 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center, Nadine had winds of 65 mph with stronger gusts. Tropical storm force winds extend outward to 115 miles.
Nadine, now at 48.9 degrees west longitude, is moving northwest at 16 mph. This puts the storm at about 875 miles east northeast of the Lesser Antilles.
The barometric pressure stands at 994 millibars or 23.35 inches.
Seeley said that while Nadine won’t cause problems, the hurricane season is far from over. Hurricane season ends Nov. 30.
“It’s way too early to throw the flag in on the season,” he said.
As for what’s ahead, Seeley said a tropical wave far out in the Atlantic Ocean could arrive as a “weaky” disturbed area Saturday. “But I don’t think at this point it’s going to be a big deal,” he said.
And as a reminder, this weekend marks the anniversaries of the territory’s two biggies. Hurricane Marilyn hit Sept. 15 and 16, 1995, and Hurricane Hugo visited on Sept. 17 and 18, 1989. Both caused massive destruction.
