Hurricane Humberto turns away from Jacksonville, leaves rip currents and high surf

Time for a growth spurt and a turn away from Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Humberto is likely to continue intensifying during the next day or so while it moves over the warm waters of the Gulf stream, the National Hurricane Center reported in its 5 p.m advisory.

The category 1 storm is moving away from Jacksonville's coast at 7 mph with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. The first coast will see a high risk of rip current and high surf through Tuesday as Humberto moves off the Atlantic coastline.

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Humberto is looking like a prime teenager ready to become an adult. It is getting stronger feeding off warm water and reduced shear and it shows in its satellite appearance looking more like a hurricane.

Further strengthening is expected during the next few days. Humberto is forecast to reach major hurricane strength early Wednesday.

A shift east away from Florida Monday will drag in dry air. It is expected to strengthen to a Category 2 by Tuesday and keep large waves along the Northeast Florida coast all week.

Forecasters expect the storm to stay offshore of Florida's eastern coast, so a tropical storm watch is no longer in effect for the state.


About the Authors:

After covering the weather from every corner of Florida and doing marine research in the Gulf, Mark Collins settled in Jacksonville to forecast weather for The First Coast.

Richard Nunn is the Weather Authority Chief Meteorologist