THIS IS A NEWS ITEM ON HURRICANE JOAQUIN ISSUED BY THE BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY FORECAST OFFICE SECTION AT 12PM, SATURDAY, 3RD OCTOBER, 2015.
…SEVERE HURRICANE JOAQUIN WITH 130 MPH WINDS MOVING AWAY FROM THE BAHAMAS…
AT 11AM EDT, THE EYE OF HURRICANE JOAQUIN WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 25.8°NORTH AND LONGITUDE 72.0°WEST OR ABOUT 200 MILES NORTHEAST OF SAN SALVADOR.
JOAQUIN IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST NEAR 14 MPH AND THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT WITH AN INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHEAST IS FORECAST ON SUNDAY. ON THE FORECAST TRACK THE CENTER OF JOAQUIN WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE AWAY FROM THE BAHAMAS TODAY.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 130 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS MAKING JOAQUIN A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE. SOME WEAKENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS BUT JOAQUIN IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN A HURRICANE.
TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 205 MILES FROM THE CENTER.
