Tropical Storm Philippe is tracking north. Will it hit New England?
Long-lived Tropical Storm Philippe strengthened Thursday as it moved north in the Atlantic Ocean on a track that will take it near Bermuda early Friday and into New England by the weekend.
Philippe could strike portions of Maine with heavy rain, strong winds and storm surge, said Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist. The system might not officially be a tropical storm at that time, but what meteorologists call a "post-tropical cyclone."
As of 11 p.m. Thursday, the center of the storm was located about 290 miles south-southwest of Bermuda. It had winds of 50 mph and was moving north at 16 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Philippe heading for Bermuda, then New England and Atlantic Canada
A tropical storm warning was in effect for Bermuda, as Philippe was approaching the island late Thursday, the hurricane center said. A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.
The outermost rain bands from Philippe were reaching Bermuda as of late Thursday. Heavy rain on Bermuda, as much as four inches, could lead to scattered flash flooding.
In addition, the hurricane center said that large ocean swells are already affecting Bermuda from another weather system but will begin to increase further later Thursday as Philippe approaches the island. "These conditions are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip currents," according to the hurricane center.
Beyond Bermuda, Philippe will most likely continue to track northward and may make landfall Saturday night near the Nova Scotia, eastern Maine and New Brunswick border, Sosnowski said. "However, there is some risk that the system could veer farther to the west and perhaps push directly onshore in northern New England, should the storm take a sharp left turn," he said.
The hurricane center, in a Thursday update, said that "for portions of New York and New England, rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches, with local amounts of 5 inches, are expected with Philippe as it moves through the region Saturday and Saturday night. Isolated to scattered instances of urban and flash flooding are expected."
The storm is expected to intensify "during the next day or so" but will weaken as it moves inland over New England this weekend, according to the hurricane center.
Still in the busiest period of the season
We're currently in the middle of the busiest period of the Atlantic hurricane season. The season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, with the most-active period running from mid-August through mid-October.
Track Tropical Storm Philippe
Special note on the NHC cone: The forecast track shows the most likely path of the center of the storm. It does not illustrate the full width of the storm or its impacts, and the center of the storm is likely to travel outside the cone up to 33% of the time.
Tropical Storm Philippe spaghetti models
Special note about spaghetti models: Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest performing models to help make its forecasts.
Contributing: Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY Network – Florida; The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tropical Storm Philippe heading north, NHC says: Latest forecast news
