Arthur Nearly A Hurricane, Pressure Dropping

As expected, Arthur is strengthening and is very close to being a hurricane. The pressure reported by Air Force Recon is 992 millibars, down from 995mb 2 hours ago. It will likely become a hurricane tonight.

A hurricane warning has been issued for the North Carolina coast from Surf City to Duck, including the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.

Forecast track shifted just a little west. The intensity forecast is not really changed. But the global models think that the storm will increase in intensity significantly and in size of wind field. The westward shift and the increase in the wind field prompted the upgrade to hurricane warnings.

The storm continues to try to become more organized. You can see new thunderstorms building on the east side of the storm.

There are three reconnaissance planes in the storm right now sending back information on Arthur.

Category: Tropical