Hurricane Jose Is Expected To Hit New York And The East Coast In The Latest Projections

Just before the National Hurricane Center upgraded Jose’s storm classification to that of a Category 1 hurricane on Friday, meteorologists were already projecting it would strike the east coast. Specifically New York, New England and the northernmost parts of the northeastern United States, which drew immediate comparisons to Hurricane Sandy’s disastrous landing in 2012 in subsequent reports. Whether or not Jose causes as much damage as Sandy did — let alone if it actually hits the northeast at all — remains to be seen. Regardless, the NHC and other state and federal agencies are already taking precautions.

According to Bloomberg, the projected path for Jose “could put it near New Jersey and New York by Wednesday morning, though it may weaken to a tropical storm again by then.” Even so, the storm is currently “moving northwest at 9 miles an hour with maximum winds of 80 mph and could strengthen over the next two days.” Rains and winds from Jose aren’t expected until late Tuesday at the earliest, though per the Boston Globe, officials are saying the storm is already “churning up high surf and dangerous rip currents in New England this weekend and into the middle of next week.”

Forecasters in the area also warned Cape Cod and nearby islands would receive the brunt of Jose’s wrath should the current projections hold, though the National Weather Service insisted the “full extent of those impacts remains dependent on the uncertain storm track.” However, considering the increasing amount of death and damage witnessed during and after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma struck Texas and Florida respectively, no one wants to play chicken with the Atlantic’s latest contribution to the storm season.

(Via Bloomberg, Boston Globe, NY1 and National Hurricane Center)