Potential Hurricane “Two” became “Ponnie” this Friday, the second tropical storm this year in the Atlantic, approaching Nicaragua and Costa Rica, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 km/h), according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
“Bonnie” is located 230 miles (370 km) east of Bluefield.On the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua.
Its cruising speed is 20 miles per hour (31 km/h). and moving westward.
On the forecast track, the system will move through the southwestern Caribbean Sea today, Tonight it will cross southern Nicaragua or northern Costa Rica and emerge into the eastern Pacific Ocean Saturday.
It will then move offshore but will move along the coasts of El Salvador, Guatemala and southern Mexico with strong winds Saturday into Monday.
Several warnings and watch orders are in effect for areas of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Colombian island of San Andres as the system passes.
The most important is a hurricane watch (the system passes in 12 to 24 hours), which extends from the border of Nicaragua and Costa Rica to the Pearl Lagoon, a first for both countries.
The NHC encourages interests in the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and the Pacific coasts of El Salvador, Guatemala, and southern Mexico, to follow the system’s progress.
According to the NHC, the chance of a named storm forming is 90% in both the 48-hour and five-day forecasts.
A potential tropical cyclone is expected to produce heavy rain in Nicaragua and Costa Rica today through Saturday.This can result in localized flash floods and landslides.
It can create a storm surge, where seas rise up to 3 feet (almost one meter) above normal tide levels in the area where it makes landfall.
The current hurricane season in the Atlantic, which began on June 1, has only Storm Alex, which formed on June 5, to be more active than usual, according to the weather service. The Yucatan Peninsula with remnants of this year’s Hurricane Agatha in the Pacific.
Alex brought rain to the western Yucatan Cuba and South Florida.
