The International Space Station has just captured this spectacular dolly shot of hurricane Sandy as it approaches the United States. According to NOAA, the Category 2 hurricane is now near Cat Island in the central Bahamas, and its wind field is expanding.
It’s western fringe is scraping eastern Florida, approaching at 26km/h. The storm is now producing maximum sustained winds of 170km/h. While there will not be aa direct impact in Florida, it is already affecting the area with strong winds and heavy rain (I’m in North Beach right now and it’s getting bad).
But while Miami is safe from the worst, meteorologists are saying that it’s likely that Sandy will directly hit some portion of the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic coast:
The forecast involves a rare, complex atmospheric setup that will allow the system to pivot back to the northwest into the region rather than simply moving out to sea.
The International Space Station took this photo a 12pm CDT today. “The storm was located about 85 miles (137km) south-southeast of Great Exuma Island.”
Hurricane Sandy will cross the Bahamas today as its But looking ahead to early next week it may help spawn a sprawling storm that could bring significant rain, wind and waves to the Northeast US Stay tuned to National Weather Service forecasts during this evolving forecast situation.