Joaquin strengthening as it approaches Bahamas

Ten to 15 inches of rain could potentially fall over central Bahamas through Friday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, CNN reported, and water levels could possibly rise as high as 3 to 5 feet above normal tides on the Bahamian coasts.

The center of the storm late Wednesday was about 170 miles (275 kilometers) east of the central Bahamas and moving toward the southwest at 6 mph (9 kph).

The hurricane center also said Joaquin could turn north or northwest Thursday night and Friday, and move along the US East Coast.

Hurricane Joaquin is strengthening as it turns toward the East Coast but forecasters say it is too soon to say what type of impact it might have on the Capital Region. Therefore, we’ll have to monitor Joaquin’s track closely, and adjust the forecast accordingly.

On Eleuthera, a narrow strip to the north of Cat Island, people removed stray coconuts and other debris from their yards and put up storm shutters in blustery winds, said Chris Gosling, who runs a volunteer ambulance service on the island.

The Hurricane Center said Marty was expected to be just offshore of the southwestern coast of Mexico on Tuesday and Wednesday, while “only a small deviation” would bring the center onto shore.

Their fierce winds can tear off roofs, fell trees and wooden-frame homes, while flooding triggered by heavy rain often bursts river banks and causes coastal flooding.

If Joaquin stays farther east and makes landfall in the northeast we would see much less rain over the weekend. While forecasters are having a hard time figuring where Joaquin is headed, they believe the storm will continue to strengthen over the next day or so.

A few models of the storm’s track eventually bring it to the southern tip of New Jersey by early next week, but confidence in the model “is low”, according to the National Weather Service.

If the storm were to work its way up here without hitting land somewhere to the south – probably sometime on Monday – it likely would be a minor hurricane or a powerful tropical storm, meteorologist Rob Reale said from the WeatherWorks headquarters in Hackettstown.

Hurricane Joaquin is headed toward an area of much warmer sea surface temperatures and an area with less wind shear. Forecasters anxious that the bad weather will not only complicate preparations for Joaquin, but “greatly exacerbate” the impacts from the hurricane. Joaquin was expected to head north toward the United States by Thursday night or Saturday.