Hurricane Paloma strengthened over the Caribbean and may become a Category 3 storm before hitting Cuba, which is still recovering from hurricanes Ike and Gustav.
Paloma’s maximum sustained winds increased to 130 kilometers (80 miles) per hour, from 120 kph earlier today, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory on its Web site just before 7 a.m. Miami time. The system, which is forecast to continue strengthening, was about 395 kilometers (245 miles) west of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and moving north at 13 kph.
On the forecast track, the center of Paloma will pass near the Cayman Islands late Friday or early Saturday,” before hitting Cuba, the center said. Additional “strengthening is likely and Paloma is expected to become a Category 2 hurricane later today and possibly reach Category 3 intensity by Saturday.”
A Category 3 storm has winds of between 178 and 209 kph, the third strongest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity. As much as 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain may fall on the Caymans, the center said.
The Cuban government issued a hurricane watch for the central provinces of Sancti Spiritus, Ciego de Avila, Camaguey, Las Tunas and Granma, the center said. A watch means that hurricane conditions are possible in the area within 36 hours.
Hurricane Ike, which made landfall in eastern Cuba as a Category 3 storm in early September, killed four and prompted Cuban authorities to evacuate as many as 2 million people, or almost a fifth of the population. In late August, Hurricane Gustav hit the island with 150 mph winds, leading to evacuations.
Miss Refineries
The center’s five-day projection shows the system crossing central Cuba and then moving over the central Bahamas and toward the open Atlantic Ocean early next week.
“Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,” the center said.
AccuWeather.com meteorologist Dale Mohler said Paloma should miss refineries in the Gulf of Mexico and in Saint Croix. The Gulf is home to about one-quarter of U.S. oil production.
“Paloma’s path will take it well away from refineries,” Mohler said in an e-mailed statement. “It could be very bad news for the people of Cuba, but it won’t impact energy interests.”
Paloma is the 16th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Forecasters predicted the season would see an above-average number of storms. Colorado State University researchers projected at least 17 major storms, including nine hurricanes, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center said there would be 14 to 18 named storms.
Bertha, Gustav
Hurricanes Bertha, Gustav, Ike and Omar reached major hurricane status of at least Category 3, with winds greater than 111 mph.
Paloma is similar to Hurricane Michelle of November 2001, which took just three days to intensify from a tropical depression into a Category 4 hurricane with winds of at least 131 mph, Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters wrote on his blog.
