STReport Radar Storm Tracker

STReport's Weather Eye	Latest NOAA/NWS/Tropical Prediction Center (TPC) Forecast Positions


LOCAL RADAR













Presented are the current position (the large, red L-Tropical Depression/Tropical Storm/Hurricane symbol) Intensity (the number within the symbol, as listed above), forecast positions for 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours. Courtesy: STRPub - CIMSS - NOAA - NWS - Saffir-Simpson Scale - UTC Time Conversion

Symbols, Legends & Charts

Weather and Tropical Storm Symbols

High Pressure	Low Pressure	Tropical Depression	Tropical Storm	Hurricane	Remnant Storm

STORM NAMES
2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Arlene Bret Cindy Dennis Emily Franklin Gert Harvey Irene Jose Katrina Lee Maria Nate Ophelia Philippe Rita Stan Tammy Vince Wilma Alpha Beta Gamma Delta Epsilon	Alberto Beryl Chris Debby Ernesto Florence Gordon Helene Isaac Joyce Kirk Leslie Michael Nadine Oscar Patty Rafael Sandy Tony Valerie William	Andrea Barry Chantal Dean Erin Felix Gabrielle Humberto Ingrid Jerry Karen Lorenzo Melissa Noel Olga Pablo Rebekah Sebastien Tanya Van Wendy	Arthur Bertha Cristobal Dolly Edouard Fay Gustav Hanna Ike Josephine Kyle Laura Marco Nana Omar Paloma Rene Sally Teddy Vicky Wilfred	Ana Bill Claudette Danny Erika Fred Grace Henri Ida Joaquin Kate Larry Mindy Nicholas Odette Peter Rose Sam Teresa Victor Wanda	Alex Bonnie Colin Danielle Earl Fiona Gaston Hermine Igor Julia Karl Lisa Matthew Nicole Otto Paula Richard Shary Tomas Virginie Walter	Arlene Bret Cindy Don Emily Franklin Gert Harvey Irene Jose Katia Lee Maria Nate Ophelia Philippe Rina Sean Tammy Vince Whitney	Alberto Beryl Chris Debby Ernesto Florence Gordon Helene Isaac Joyce Kirk Leslie Michael Nadine Oscar Patty Rafael Sandy Tony Valerie William

Saffir-Simpson Scale

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane (Cyclone) Scale is a 1-5 rating based on the hurricane's present intensity. This is used to give an estimate of the potential property damage and flooding expected along the coast from a hurricane landfall. Wind speed is the determining factor in the scale, as storm surge values are highly dependent on the slope of the continental shelf in the landfall region. Note: all winds are using the U.S. 1-minute average. For reference, Tropical Depression (TD) wind is less than 39 mph (34 kts) and Tropical Storm (TS) wind speed is 39-73 mph (34-63 kts). Note that all winds are using the U.S. 1-minute average.

The Saffir-Simpson Scale for Tropical Cyclones

Category	Miles Per Hour (mph)	Knots (kt)	Kilometers Per Hour (km hr^-1)
Tropical Depression	38	33	62
*Tropical Storm (TS)*	39-73	34-63	63-118
Category 1 >980 millibars	74-95	64-82	119-153
Category 2 979-965 millibars	96-110	83-95	154-177
Category 3 964-945 millibars	111-130	96-113	178-209
Category 4 944-920 millibars	131-155	114-135	210-249
*Category 5* <= 920 millibars	156 or greater	136 or greater	250 or greater

Category One Hurricane: Storm surge generally 4-5 ft above normal. No real damage to building structures. Damage primarily to unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery, and trees. Some damage to poorly constructed signs. Also, some coastal road flooding and minor pier damage. Hurricanes Allison of 1995 and Danny of 1997 were Category One hurricanes at peak intensity.

Category Two Hurricane: Storm surge generally 6-8 feet above normal. Some roofing material, door, and window damage of buildings. Considerable damage to shrubbery and trees with some trees blown down. Considerable damage to mobile homes, poorly constructed signs, and piers. Coastal and low lying escape routes flood 2-4 hours before arrival of the hurricane center. Small craft in unprotected anchorages break moorings. Hurricane Bonnie of 1998 was a Category Two hurricane when it hit the North Carolina coast, while Hurricane Georges of 1998 was a Category Two Hurricane when it hit the Florida Keys and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Category Three Hurricane: Storm surge generally 9-12 ft above normal. Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings with a minor amount of curtainwall failures. Damage to shrubbery and trees with foliage blown off trees and large trees blown down. Mobile homes and poorly constructed signs are destroyed. Low lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by battering from floating debris. Terrain continuously lower than 5 ft above mean sea level may be flooded inland 8 miles (13 km) or more. Evacuation of low-lying residences with several blocks of the shoreline may be required. Hurricanes Roxanne of 1995 and Fran of 1996 were Category Three hurricanes at landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and in North Carolina, respectively.

Category Four Hurricane: Storm surge generally 13-18 ft above normal. More extensive curtainwall failures with some complete roof structure failures on small residences. Shrubs, trees, and all signs are blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Extensive damage to doors and windows. Low lying escape routes may be cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of structures near the shore. Terrain lower than 10 ft above sea level may be flooded requiring massive evacuation of residential areas as far inland as 6 miles (10 km). Hurricane Luis of 1995 was a Category Four hurricane while moving over the Leeward Islands. Hurricanes Felix and Opal of 1995 also reached Category Four status at peak intensity.

Category Five Hurricane: Storm surge generally greater than 18 ft above normal. Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. All shrubs, trees, and signs blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Severe and extensive window and door damage. Low lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of all structures located less than 15 ft above sea level and within 500 yards of the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within 5-10 miles (8-16 km) of the shoreline may be required. Hurricane Mitch of 1998 was a Category Five hurricane at peak intensity over the western Caribbean. Hurricane Gilbert of 1988 was a Category Five hurricane at peak intensity and is one of the strongest Atlantic tropical cyclones of record.

UTC Time Conversion

Weather observations around the world (including radar observations) are always taken with respect to a standard time. By convention, the world's weather communities use a twenty four hour clock, similar to "military" time based on the 0° longitude meridian, also known as the Greenwich meridian.

Standard Time Daylight Saving

UTC Guam HI AK PST MST CST EST AST PDT MDT CDT EDT

Diff +10 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -7 -6 -5 -4

00 10a 2p* 3p* 4p* 5p* 6p* 7p* 8p* 5p* 6p* 7p* 8p*

01 11a 3p* 4p* 5p* 6p* 7P* 8p* 9p* 6p* 7p* 8p* 9p*

02 12N 4p* 5p* 6p* 7p* 8p* 9p* 10p* 7p* 8p* 9p* 10p*

03 1p 5p* 6p* 7p* 8p* 9p* 10p* 11p* 8p* 9p* 10* 11p*

04 2p 6p* 7p* 8p* 9p* 10p* 11p* 12M 9p* 10p* 11p* 12M

05 3p 7p* 8p* 9p* 10p* 11p* 12M 1a 10p* 11p* 12M 1a

06 4p 8p* 9p* 10p* 11p* 12M 1a 2a 11p* 12M 1a 2a

07 5p 9p* 10p* 11p* 12M 1a 2a 3a 12M 1a 2a 3a

08 6p 10p* 11p* 12M 1a 2a 3a 4a 1a 2a 3a 4a

09 7p 11p* 12M 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 2a 3a 4a 5a

10 8p 12M 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 3a 4a 5a 6a

11 9p 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 4a 5a 6a 7a

12 10p 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 5a 6a 7a 8a

13 11p 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 6a 7a 8a 9a

14 12M% 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 7a 8a 9a 10

15 1a% 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 8a 9a 10a 11a

16 2a% 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12N 9a 10a 11a 12N

17 3a% 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12N 1p 10a 11a 12N 1p

18 4a% 8a 9a 10a 11a 12N 1p 2p 11a 12N 1p 2p

19 5a% 9a 10a 11a 12N 1p 2p 3p 12N 1p 2p 3p

20 6a% 10a 11a 12N 1p 2p 3p 4p 1p 2p 3p 4p

21 7a% 11a 12N 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 2p 3p 4p 5p

22 8a% 12N 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 3p 4p 5p 6p

23 9a% 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 4p 5p 6p 7p

AST - Atlantic, AK - Alaska time, HI - Hawaii time
*The previous day, %The next day

Prior to 1972, this time was called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) but is now referred to as Coordinated Universal Time or Universal Time Coordinated (UTC). It is a coordinated time scale, maintained by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). It is also known a "Z time" or "Zulu Time".

Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the international time standard. It is the current term for what was commonly referred to as Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT). Zero (0) hours UTC is midnight in Greenwich England, which lies on the zero longitudinal meridian. Universal time is based on a 24 hour clock, therefore, afternoon hours such as 4 pm UTC are expressed as 16:00 UTC (sixteen hours, zero minutes).

Since a day is 24 hours long, the world may be split into 15 degree wide longitudinal bands (360 degrees ÷ 24 hours). Each band represents one hour. As an example, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada is located at approximately 113 degrees west longitude, hence, local time lags UTC time by 7 hours (113 ÷ 15, assuming Mountain Standard Time, 6 hours in Mountain Daylight Time). So, if the universal time is 14:30 UTC, Alberta Canada Mountain Standard Time would be 07:30 MST ( 7:30 am MST ).

To obtain your local time here in the United States, you need to subtract a certain number of hours from UTC depending on how many time zones you are away from Greenwich (England). The table (right) shows the standard difference from UTC time to local time.

The switch to daylight saving time does not affect UTC. It refers to time on the zero or Greenwich meridian, which is not adjusted to reflect changes either to or from Daylight Saving Time.

However, you need to know what happens during daylight saving time in the United States. In short, the local time is advanced one hour during daylight saving time. As an example, the Eastern Time zone difference from UTC is a -4 hours during daylight saving time rather than -5 hours as it is during standard time.


	Noaa/NWS Hurricane Tracking Chart (PDF) ------------ University of Hawaii Cyclone Tracking