Predictwind - Images of Hurricane Matthew's trajectory - 1

by Sail-World.com on 6 Oct 2016 Hurricane Matthew has wrecked havoc in the Caribbean and Haiti in particular.

In these images from Predictwind's wind mapping facility we can see the path and shape of the of the hurricane as it moves towards a landing point on the US coast just north of Miami and then moves along the US coast before coming to a stop around Jacksonville.

Using a feature of the wind map we can see in the latest projection that winds are averaging just under 60kts (70mph/110kph) at the peak of the hurricane. Gusts would be expected to exceed that by 15-20% or more. Wind gusts in Haiti exceeded 150mph/130kts). The latest image was taken at at 3.00pm local time on October 6 in Florida. Note the strongest winds are on the northern/seaward side of the hurricane.

The latest projections have it that the winds will ease gradually as the hurricane moves along the US coast and is projected to be at a peak of 37.5kts in Jacksonville, where it is expected to peter out.

Of slight concern is a second depression circling Bermuda, currently it is expected to only have winds of 22-25kts as it passes over Bermuda in a few days. However at 2.00pm Thursday Oct 6, Tropical Storm Nicole was upgraded to a grade 1 hurricane and renamed Hurricane Nicole. Although Nicole is not expected to land in USA, Bermuda is in its cone, or estimated area in which Nicole is expected to track. Currently Nicole is 300nm south of Bermuda but is tracking NNW at 6kts towards Bermuda.

The path and intensity of the other storms in the area have significant changes daily.

This chart is a split screen showing the two feeds processed by Predictwind to take account of topography and other factors. These are wind charts only - other features in Predictwind show swell height (open water) and rainfall. Higher than normal tides are often a feature of deep depressions - which increases the damage caused by the large swells as they come ashore.

At Fort Lauderdale at 9.00pm local time on Oct 6, 2016, the projection from one feed is that winds will average 52kts, with gusts of 60kts. Rainfall is heavy at 6.2mm per hour at that time with 3metre seas. As the hurricane centre passes a wind change will happen around midnight local time.

About Predictwind:

Developed by former Olympian, Jon Bilger (470, 1992), PredictWind application was used by the Swiss team Alinghi to win the 2003 and 2007 America's Cups, and has become the leading wind system used by racing and recreational sailors around the world. It is available on a subscription basis and also with a free forecast option.

A mobile app for Android and iPhone is available and www.predictwind.com!PredictWind is available for download

Real time local wind observations have been added as further functionality.

You can check the weather anywhere in the world, and get a five-day forecast, plus a variety of other features and functions of www.predictwind.com!PredictWind. The app is synchronised with your PC so that your latest set of locations are always available without resetting each time you change a device