While Category 5 Hurricane Irma is plowing through the Caribbean Islands heading towards southern Florida, she was joined by two more, Hurricane Jose, at category 2 storm, trailing right behind, and in the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Katia, a category 1 that is threatening the coast of Mexico near Veracruz.
As of at 2 p.m. ET Thursday, Jose was out over the open Atlantic, not far from where Irma was several days ago. The Category 2 storm had maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, and is expected to strengthen into a major hurricane — Category 3 or more — on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Like Irma, Hurricane Jose is a Cape Verde hurricane, a type of storm that forms in the far eastern Atlantic, near the Cape Verde Islands (now known as Cabo Verde).The closest land mass Jose will approach is the northern Leeward Islands, the same ones Irma just devastated. It’s not close enough to cause direct destruction but near enough to bring another potential round of wind and rain to the ravaged islands. Isolated amounts of 10 inches are possible.
A hurricane watch is in effect for Antigua and Barbuda, and a tropical storm watch is in effect for Anguilla, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis and Saba and St. Eustatius, according to the hurricane center.Katia became a Category 1 hurricane in the southern Gulf of Mexico not too far from where Harvey formed two weeks ago. Unlike Harvey, which moved to the north and strengthened rapidly, Katia is expected to stick close to Mexico.
Katia was 195 miles northeast of Veracruz, Mexico, and there’s a hurricane warning in effect for Cabo Rojo to Laguna Verde.
The US is still dealing with the disaster caused by Hurricane Harvey with the federal government finally cutting a deal providing funds for Texas and Louisiana that is tied to increasing the debt ceiling. It’s not necessarily a deal that the Republicans liked but they were blindsided by The Donald in a meeting in the Oval Office with the leadership from both sides. Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah explains the “good news” – how a hurricane got government to function – and the “bad news” – now there are three hurricanes.