Hurricane Katia 2011 Strengthens In Atlantic, Could Be Heading For Eastern U.S. (INTERACTIVE MAP)

Just days after Hurricane Irene battered the East Coast, causing tremendous flooding and damage in many areas, a new storm, Hurricane Katia, is already brewing in the Atlantic.

Katia is the second Atlantic storm of the season to hit hurricane strength, and has been propelled by warm waters and a low wind shear environment, ideal for further strengthening. The hurricane has favorable conditions for growth from which it can gain energy, according to NASA.

Though it's too soon to tell if Katia will make landfall, it certainly seems to be pointed at the U.S. coastline. The National Hurricane Center has stated that it could become a Category 3 hurricane by Labor Day weekend.

If it is to make landfall, meteorologists don't quite know where it may go. According to the Associated Press, while some models show Katia hitting the Texas coastline or the Florida Panhandle, others show it veering north or northwest.

Google.org's Crisis Map, which you can see below, is one of the easiest ways to track the storm as it develops. The map will pull in the latest movements and projections about the storm as they come in.

Comments

[Michael Smeltzer]

02:45 PM on 09/03/2011

This ones a kicker.... think of the following, oil pressure is depleting off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. This depletion of oil pressure is causing the oil dome to depress and it will eventually collapse, causing the worlds largest wave, tsunami. Whatever you want to call it, swamping the Gulf States over 300 miles inland.
In the mean time, the pressure loss is causing plate Tectonics to shift, meaning earthquakes on the east and west coast, plus other parts of the country.
But don't believe me, because when it's done, new bodies of water going past the Port of Kansas City will appear, ending in Chicago connecting the Great Lakes.... how soon? I don't know, but some of you need to move... because they are insane.

[robiform]

08:31 PM on 09/02/2011

The system in the Gulf of Mexico is now a tropical storm named Lee. We're already up to the "L" storm, and the hurricane season is not yet half done! Granted, most of the storms have not been terribly powerful, but it's due to the advances in meteorological SCIENCE (a dirty word to some people!), that we've been able to track and predict these storms.

To the people on the Gulf coast, especially those in and around New Orleans--I truly hope that those new levees will do what they're supposed to do in situations like this!

[boone bennett]

11:52 PM on 09/02/2011

Those slow moving tropical storms that come ashore in the Gulf coast dropping 10 + inches of rain on a drought stricken area can bring as much destruction as a fast moving hurricane. We need the rain but not in the form of a tropical storm. As to the levees....The Mighty Mississippi...Old Man River....was never meant to be contained. So there Corps of Engineers. Thanks Robiform for being concerned about us.

[NowHurricane]

11:18 AM on 09/02/2011

Katia is a Hurricane again according to reports http://nowhurricane.com/2011/katia-2011/11am-update-2-september-hurricane-again/

[Topdown1]

10:56 AM on 09/02/2011

Huricanes and Earthquakes and Tital Waves, oh my!

[jerrypl]

09:33 AM on 09/02/2011

I guess the Jindal, Perry, Ron Pauls of the GOP will want disaster relief assistance while preaching how the states should take all the responsibility as they campaign that the federal government should stay out of such things.

[Anne Mccormick]

02:38 AM on 09/02/2011

oh, not again. i've had more than enough of this, thank you

[AlpineSkier]

08:46 PM on 09/01/2011

No way to know where it's headed, but it looks like it's coming on strong.

[Dasha Aran]

08:09 PM on 09/01/2011

With hurricanes, they are so unpredictable till the last minute. With Irene, at first they were saying it will hit florida but Irene did a twist and inched up twoards North Carolina, NY and NJ instead. I will be watching this one closely.

[Steelheadangler]

07:41 PM on 09/01/2011

There are three storms forming in this region according to the National Hurricane Center. The system in the Gulf has a very high chance of becoming a tropical cyclone. Looks like hurricane season is in full swing.

[Jeremyewilliams]

05:31 PM on 09/01/2011

Brace yourselves, again. :(

[DrJohnnySkeptic]

05:29 PM on 09/01/2011

I hope Vermont - and all other states, of course - is spared any further damage.