Hurricane Larry: Storm might be even stronger, more devastating than Ida
Even as several states across southern and northeastern America continue to reel from the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Ida, it looks like another major hurricane is gearing up in the Atlantic Ocean. As per the latest reports, forecasters were keeping an eye on Sunday, September 5, on another storm — named Hurricane Larry — that could be even more ferocious.
Hurricane Larry is a Category 3 hurricane that could intensify into a Category 4 storm, possibly by Sunday, Accuweather meteorologists reportedly said. A Category 4 hurricane, as Ida was when it made landfall in Louisiana, has sustained winds of 130 to 156 mph. If Larry's sustained winds increase above 150 mph, it would become the strongest storm in the Atlantic this year — even stronger than Ida, Accuweather said.
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The latest reports warn that although Larry is forecast to remain well east — the more to the west the hurricane tracks, the bigger brunt Bermuda could face — it is "expected to pass close to Bermuda and could make landfall in Atlantic Canada". The storm, which the Hurricane Center said had grown "larger and a little stronger," could send swells that reach Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Greater Antilles Monday and Tuesday.
"At this point, it is most likely that Larry will miss the United States and stay a few hundred miles away from the Northeast coast," Accuweather said. However, that doesn't mean there is not danger. Much of the eastern US coast could feel Larry's effects by midweek. Major swells from the storm are "likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions," the hurricane center said. Larry could last well into the second week of September.
On Sunday afternoon, Larry was located about 830 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands. it was moving to the northwest with the maximum sustained winds at 125 mph, with higher gusts, the National Hurricane Center said. "Little change in strength is forecast during the next few days, although fluctuations in intensity will be possible. Larry is expected to remain a major hurricane through the middle of this week," the center said.
The storm is a large hurricane, the center said, "Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles."
AccuWeather senior meteorologist Randy Adkins said in a report on Saturday, "There is certainly a chance that Larry tracks far enough to the west to pass close to or even over Bermuda, likely as a major hurricane. However, as it currently stands, it appears more likely than not that Larry will still end up far enough to the east to spare Bermuda the brunt of the storm."
Hurricane Larry became the fifth hurricane (and third major hurricane) last week in an already-rough Atlantic hurricane season: 12 named storms. The season runs from June 1 through November 30.