Check out the path of Rina from the National Hurricane Center… looks like one of Carlos’ tee box shots. SLICE!

Hurricane Rina is looking haggard, and that’s great news for Cancun. Yesterday the storm starting gulping in dry air from the north and that started her decline. Rina should hit the NE coast of the Yucatan Peninsula tonight or tomorrow morning, and then head East towards Cuba. By this time the southwest wind shear will be cutting what’s left of the storm down even further, and at this point it doesn’t appear to be a threat to S FL or the US. I’ll have the forecast from the NHC for you on the show.

A strong cold front is draped across the US from the NE to NM this morning, and heavy pockets of rain are being stirred up. The heavy snow is falling in NM and north TX this morning, but that should exit and turn to rain later today. I saw reports in CO of 18” of snow near Pueblo, with Denver getting over a half-foot of the stuff.

The heavy rain in will bring delays to NYC, Philly, DC, Boston, Detroit, Chicago and Dallas.

TX is getting some beneficial rain today too. This is the first time in a long time that a cold front has made it through to the Lone Star State with enough juice to produce rain and storms, enjoy it! Those are the bullet points, see ya out there.

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Hurricane • Rain • Rina • Snow • Weather

Hurricane Rina"

Hurricane Rina has changed little in the past 12 hours, but is right on the cusp of being a major hurricane. The winds all night and into this morning were around 110 mph, a Cat. 2 (major hurricanes are Cat 3 and above, with winds of more than 110 mph). The satellite presentation looks pretty good, with the outflow clouds blowing out in a circle. That’s an indication to me that the storm is not being disturbed by any wind shear yet, and still has a good chance of strengthening a little further before it hits or brushes into the northern Yucatan Peninsula tomorrow. Cancun and Cozumel are under hurricane warnings right now. Rina has been crawling to the West this morning, but once it gets a little closer to the Westerly’s it should pick up it’s forward speed and bend towards Cuba or the FL Straights. The land interaction near Cancun, wind shear, and cooler water temps should buzz down the hurricane’s strength in about 36 hours, and that’s great news. The FL keys and Southern FL may start feeling the effects of this storm by the weekend, but by that time Rina should be down to a tropical storm. I’ll update you again tomorrow on the strength/path.

The other big story is the major snow storm over the Rockies. Denver (again, record high of 80F on Monday) has switched from rain to snow and could see around a foot pile up around the metro area by this evening! The storm itself should slide into the Plains tonight and take the snow with it, but rain and snow will also hit WY, NM, and the OK/TX panhandles. I’ll have the radar and warnings for you.

A cold front and warm front are sliding into the NE out of the MW this morning, and the rain has been heavy for NY state, PA and OH this morning. I’m afraid travel delays will fire up in NYC, PHL, and Denver today. I’ll have the entire deal for you on the show.

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Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Hurricane • Rain • Rina • Snow • Weather

Hurricane Rina is in the western Caribbean Sea slowly gaining strength. The storm is now a Cat 2 with winds around 100 mph, and may become a major hurricane with winds around 115 mph by tomorrow. The patch takes it close to Cancun around Thursday and then bends it eastward towards Cuba for the weekend. We’ll see where it goes from there, but if you live in South FL keep an eye on this thing. Usually this time of year the cold fronts and steering flow is a lot stronger, so the hurricanes get batted around like a ping pong ball and don’t get a chance to gain super strength. This is a little different in the short term, since it’s going over warmer water with light winds. We’ll keep our eyes on it. I’ll tweet about Rina this afternoon too (only b/c if I tweeted personal stuff, your eyes would glaze over. “Gotta pick up kids at school, later cleaning up after my dog” real compelling, right?).

Stateside I’m watching a cold front slide off the New England coast taking rain out to sea with it. The wind will pick up behind this thing and gust to around 30 mph for the NE.

Another shot of rain is moving over MI this morning ahead of a warm front, but the major storm for the afternoon and evening is getting started over the Rockies now. The wind will switch around to the E over CO and blow up the Rockies. This should change your rain over to snow overnight for Denver (whose high was 80 yesterday!) and pile up 2-4”. A winter storm warning is in effect for a good chunk of CO and WY. I’ll show you the maps.

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Hurricane • Rina • Weather • Winter Storm Warning