Emily looks to be ready to take on Hurricane Status as it moves North on a projected course for Florida. Barbados appears to be in Emily’s path and will be there within 24-hours. Emily is the fifth names storm this season and she is being followed by her siblings; Franklin, Gert, Harvey and Irene.
Right now Emily has sustained winds of nearly 60 miles per hour and is moving West now with little organization, but some rotation. Most Forecasters who are monitoring the situation believe she will indeed reach Category I Hurricane Status before any landfall. Hurricane Status starts at 74 miles per hour winds. This will be on Wednesday or early Thursday and then it makes its long journey Northward to pound into the United States.
There is much activity off the coast of Africa this year and this activity is going to spit out many storms in the next few weeks and those storms will move West to and then North into the United States. This increased activity will span several weeks and is somewhat unusual in its intensity this early in the Hurricane Season.
Most meteorologists believe that the 2005 Hurricane Season will rival or surpass the 2004 Hurricane Season when four Hurricanes of Category Two or higher slammed into the State of Florida and challenged the resources of FEMA. For now we wait and see, but we cannot take our eyes of Emily.