Tropical Storm Emily could target East Coast in coming days

rsz_1emilysat.jpgA satellite image of Tropical Storm Emily as it moves through the Caribbean.

The east coast could get its first brush with a tropical system over the next seven days as Tropical Storm Emily churns through the Caribbean.

Emily is forecast to move across the Dominican Republic and Haiti in the next few days and potentially target the southeast by the weekend, according to guidance from the National Hurricane Center.

What will this mean for New Jersey? It remains to be seen, but the impacts are likely to be minimal even if Emily can hold herself together and come ashore to our south.

In their morning forecast discussion, the National Hurricane Center says Emily remains disorganized despite looking more fearsome in recent satellite imagery. The system's top sustained winds are currently just above tropical depression status at 40 miles per hour while the pressure remains high for a tropical system at 1007 millibars.

Conditions to the north and west, where the storm is headed, aren’t currently ripe for development either, meaning Emily may have a tough time becoming more robust as she plows towards the United States.

Emily1.gifTropical Storm Emily is predicted to track towards the southeastern United States in the coming days.

If Emily were to blossom into a hurricane, New Jersey would likely be protected from major wind and storm surge impacts by our natural land guardians to the south – North Carolina and Virginia. The two states jut out into the Atlantic Ocean and typically take the brunt of any tropical system that is pointed in our direction -- making a direct impact from a tropical system difficult in the Garden State.

Nonetheless, the situation bears monitoring as Emily (or what’s left of her) could make its way up to New Jersey by early next week. Hurricanes are unpredictable, and the forecast could change dramatically between now and the weekend.


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