By Donna Thomas, SouthFloridaReporter.com Meteorologist, aUG 20, 2015 – Hurricane Danny strengthened a bit Thursday afternoon, but its future remains uncertain. At 5 pm, Danny was located near 13.0 North, 45.7 West, and was moving west-northwest at 10 miles per hour. Maximum sustained winds were estimated at 85 miles per hour.
Danny is forecast to continue moving west-northwest for about 48 hours before returning to a westward motion. It will face some serious obstacles, including dry air and wind shear, and it’s forecast to weaken to a tropical storm when it nears the Leeward Islands late in the weekend.
Just how far of a northward movement Danny makes over the next couple of days will determine if it interacts with Puerto Rico or Hispaniola, an interaction that can, along with its other obstacles, tear apart such a small system. Both NOAA and Air Force Reserve planes will fly into Danny on Friday afternoon to get more data on its structure, strength, and wind field. We’ll watch Danny’s future track and development very carefully.
