81.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesWeather Should Be Fine If Lisa Behaves as Predicted

Weather Should Be Fine If Lisa Behaves as Predicted

Sept. 21, 2004 – Tropical Storm Lisa is still churning across the Atlantic Ocean, but forecasters continue to think the storm will veer away from the Virgin Islands.
"A southeast to south wind flow across the northeast Caribbean is expected by the time Lisa arrives. It will guide Lisa to the northwest and to the north," Scott Stripling, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in San Juan, said.
At 5 p.m., Tropical Storm Lisa was centered at 14.4 degrees north latitude and 40.3 degrees west longitude. This puts it about 1,090 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands. The storm has winds of 70 mph with gusts to 85 mph. Tropical storm force winds extend out 50 miles.
The barometric pressure stands at 990 millibars or 29.22 inches. The storm is moving toward the west-northwest at 8 mph.
Stripling said the Virgin Islands should have "pretty good" weather for the next few days. However, north, northwest and northeast coastlines across the territory will see high surf caused by Hurricanes Jeanne and Karl. Swells from both storms are pushing many hundreds of miles toward the territory.
Forecasters are also watching a large disturbed area several hundred miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands that could develop into Tropical Depression 14. If it becomes a named storm, it will be called Matthew.
"It's a long way out to speculate, but the computer models indicate it will do the same thing as Lisa," Stripling said. He said forecasters expect it to become a tropical depression in the next 24 hours.
Stripling warned that forecasters expect more storms to form during the next few weeks.
As for Hurricane Karl, it's already at latitude north of the Virgin Islands and heading north-northwest. It will pose no threat to the territory.
At 5 p.m., Hurricane Karl was centered at 22.9 degrees north latitude and 48.6 degrees west longitude. This puts it about 990 miles east-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands.
The hurricane has winds of 120 mph with gusts to 150 mph. The barometric pressure stands at 948 millibars or 27.98 inches. The storm is moving north-northwest at 16 mph.
Hurricane Jeanne, which dumped heavy rains on the Virgin Islands last week as Tropical Storm Jeanne, is doing a loop-de-loop 515 miles east of Great Abaco in the Bahamas. Other than swells coming from the north, it's history for V.I. residents.
Back Talk

Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.

Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice.. click here.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.