A picture is worth a thousand words -- certainly true in the above satellite image of Hurricane Karl this morning! Karl now has a well defined eye that formed over the last 6 hours or so as it gets set for a second landfall on the coast of mainland Mexico later today. Upper level wind is very light and high pressure is centered aloft over Karl -- a perfect environment for strengthening even though the heat content of the Bay of Campeche is not very high (despite very warm water in this part of the Gulf, it is not very deep -- thus lower heat content). Karl is now the 5th major hurricane -- a Category 3 -- of the Atlantic season.
Igor is also still a major hurricane while Julia is about to start weakening east of Igor. The pattern that has been protecting us from tropical systems over the last several weeks may start to break down this weekend and early next week. We may have to be on the lookout for a tropical wave that will enter in the Caribbean early next week. More later.
Brian
