" Hurricane Jeanne got stronger, bigger and faster as it began slamming into storm-weary Florida Saturday, sending huge waves crashing into beaches and again forcing thousands into shelters just weeks after Frances ravaged this area.
Jeanne, a dangerous Category 3 storm with 115 mph winds, followed its forecasted track Saturday, aiming for landfall on the Treasure Coast around midnight. The storm took a northward turn after hitting the Bahamas and thus spared Broward, southern Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties of the worst winds.
At 7 p.m., the storm was 90 miles east-southeast of Vero Beach, moving a little north of due west near 14 mph. If it maintains that forward speed, it would make landfall about midnight, depending on how far north it aims.
As it churns into increasingly warm waters, the system was forecast to build close to 130 mph, or just shy of a devastating Category 4 monster.
Tropical storm force winds, with gusts greater than 40 mph, were spreading into Palm Beach and the Martin County areas before noon. By Saturday night, the north end of Palm Beach County could be thrashed with hurricane conditions, while much of the rest of Florida could see tropical force winds and heavy downpours.
Jeanne could bring up to 10 inches of rain to Palm Beach County and up to 6 inches in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, forecasters said.
The storm was expected to rage through Saturday night, with winds subsiding over most of the tri-county area by Sunday afternoon.
In addition to its pelting winds and rain, Jeanne posed a danger in storm surge flooding 4 to 8 feet above normal tide levels, as well as large battering waves. And the coast isn't the only area that would be endangered: a storm surge of up to 7 feet above the present water level is likely for the east side of Lake Okeechobee, the National Hurricane Center in Miami-Dade County said.
The system's wind field, the area with the most dangerous gusts, almost doubled in size in the past day, as hurricane force winds now extend 70 miles from its core and tropical force winds extend about 205 miles."
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High waves crash into rocks on the coast of the Bahamas island as Hurricane Jeanne moves closer to the Bahamas. Jeanne, which killed more than 1,000 people when it dumped torrential rains on Haiti last weekend, is expected to move over the northern Bahamas on Saturday and hit the Florida coast Sunday. REUTERS/FelipZ Major/Tribune staff
From:
http://www.reuters.co.uk/
From:
http://www.intellicast.com