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FLORIDA
STORMS
Hurricane Larry
LOCATED
1230 MI E OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS
WINDS
115 MPH
PRESSURE
965 MB
MOVING
WNW AT 16 MPH
From the National Hurricane Center at 1100 PM AST Fri Sep 03 2021
Larry lunges to major hurricane intensity.
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Alerts
hazards
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DISCUSSION

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

SURF: Swells generated by Larry are expected to reach the Lesser Antilles on Sunday, and will continue to spread westward to portions of the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, and Bermuda Monday and Tuesday. Significant swells will likely reach the eastern United States coastline after Labor Day. These swells are likely to cause life threatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult products from your local weather office.

SURF: Swells generated by Larry are expected to reach the Lesser Antilles on Sunday, and will continue to spread westward to portions of the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, and Bermuda Monday and Tuesday. Significant swells will likely reach the eastern United States coastline after Labor Day. These swells are likely to cause life threatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult products from your local weather office.

At 1100 PM AST (0300 UTC), the center of Hurricane Larry was located near latitude 15.5 North, longitude 43.3 West. Larry is moving toward the west northwest near 16 mph (26 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue through late Saturday. A motion toward the northwest at a slower forward speed is forecast to begin Sunday morning and continue through Tuesday. Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 115 mph (185 km/h) with higher gusts. Larry is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Additional strengthening is forecast over the next day or two, and Larry is expected to remain at major hurricane strength through the early part of next week. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 35 miles (55 km) from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 150 miles (240 km). The estimated minimum central pressure is 965 mb (28.50 inches).

At 1100 PM AST (0300 UTC), the center of Hurricane Larry was located near latitude 15.5 North, longitude 43.3 West. Larry is moving toward the west northwest near 16 mph (26 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue through late Saturday. A motion toward the northwest at a slower forward speed is forecast to begin Sunday morning and continue through Tuesday. Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 115 mph (185 km/h) with higher gusts. Larry is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Additional strengthening is forecast over the next day or two, and Larry is expected to remain at major hurricane strength through the early part of next week. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 35 miles (55 km) from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 150 miles (240 km). The estimated minimum central pressure is 965 mb (28.50 inches).

Larry has had a distinct but slightly ragged 15 n mi wide eye during the past few hours, while convective cloud tops within the eyewall have been gradually cooling. Intensity estimates have responded, somewhat significantly, to the improved structure, and TAFB and SAB Dvorak fixes at 0000 UTC were T5.5/102 kt and T5.0/90 kt, respectively. In addition, objective UW-CIMSS ADT and SATCON estimates are near 105 kt. Larry has become a major hurricane, the third of the Atlantic season, with estimated 100-kt sustained winds.

The hurricane is located due south of a mid-tropospheric high centered over the central Atlantic, and continues to move toward the west-northwest (285/14 kt). Larry is generally expected to move around the southwestern periphery of the high, turning northwestward at a slower speed by Sunday and then north-northwestward by Wednesday as a deep-layer trough moves eastward across the eastern United States. There is fairly high confidence in the track forecast, with model guidance showing a below- to near-normal amount of spread through day 5. The new NHC track forecast is right along the forecast from the previous advisory through day 3, and then nudged slightly westward on days 4 and 5. It should be noted that a few of the consensus aids, including HCCA, are still a little bit west of the official forecast at day 5, which might portend additional westward nudges in future advisories.

By strict definition, Larry hasn't quite rapidly intensified since this time yesterday, but it has still strengthened quickly over waters that are considered only marginally warm (26-27 degrees Celsius). For the next couple of days, low shear, higher oceanic heat content, and a more unstable environment should favor additional intensification. However, there are still indications that Larry could run into an environment of higher shear and less upper-level divergence in 2-3 days as it approaches a mid-/upper-level trough currently located north and northeast of the Leeward Islands. In addition, internal processes within the hurricane's core itself, such as eyewall replacement cycles, could affect the intensity. In light of all these factors, the NHC intensity forecast relies on persistence to show additional strengthening during the next 36 hours, and then holds Larry steady through 60 hours at an intensity that is near the upper end of the guidance. Very gradual weakening is anticipated on days 3 through 5 while Larry heads in the direction of higher latitudes, yet the hurricane is forecast to remain at major hurricane intensity for the entire 5-day forecast period.

Significant ocean swells generated by Larry's growing wind field are expected to reach the Lesser Antilles on Sunday, and then spread westward to portions of the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, and Bermuda on Monday and Tuesday. These swells could cause life-threatening rip currents and high surf conditions. Large swells are also likely to spread to the east coast of the United States by midweek.

Larry has had a distinct but slightly ragged 15 n mi wide eye during the past few hours, while convective cloud tops within the eyewall have been gradually cooling. Intensity estimates have responded, somewhat significantly, to the improved structure, and TAFB and SAB Dvorak fixes at 0000 UTC were T5.5/102 kt and T5.0/90 kt, respectively. In addition, objective UW-CIMSS ADT and SATCON estimates are near 105 kt. Larry has become a major hurricane, the third of the Atlantic season, with estimated 100-kt sustained winds.

The hurricane is located due south of a mid-tropospheric high centered over the central Atlantic, and continues to move toward the west-northwest (285/14 kt). Larry is generally expected to move around the southwestern periphery of the high, turning northwestward at a slower speed by Sunday and then north-northwestward by Wednesday as a deep-layer trough moves eastward across the eastern United States. There is fairly high confidence in the track forecast, with model guidance showing a below- to near-normal amount of spread through day 5. The new NHC track forecast is right along the forecast from the previous advisory through day 3, and then nudged slightly westward on days 4 and 5. It should be noted that a few of the consensus aids, including HCCA, are still a little bit west of the official forecast at day 5, which might portend additional westward nudges in future advisories.

By strict definition, Larry hasn't quite rapidly intensified since this time yesterday, but it has still strengthened quickly over waters that are considered only marginally warm (26-27 degrees Celsius). For the next couple of days, low shear, higher oceanic heat content, and a more unstable environment should favor additional intensification. However, there are still indications that Larry could run into an environment of higher shear and less upper-level divergence in 2-3 days as it approaches a mid-/upper-level trough currently located north and northeast of the Leeward Islands. In addition, internal processes within the hurricane's core itself, such as eyewall replacement cycles, could affect the intensity. In light of all these factors, the NHC intensity forecast relies on persistence to show additional strengthening during the next 36 hours, and then holds Larry steady through 60 hours at an intensity that is near the upper end of the guidance. Very gradual weakening is anticipated on days 3 through 5 while Larry heads in the direction of higher latitudes, yet the hurricane is forecast to remain at major hurricane intensity for the entire 5-day forecast period.

Significant ocean swells generated by Larry's growing wind field are expected to reach the Lesser Antilles on Sunday, and then spread westward to portions of the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, and Bermuda on Monday and Tuesday. These swells could cause life-threatening rip currents and high surf conditions. Large swells are also likely to spread to the east coast of the United States by midweek.

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