Good afternoon everyone. While I have been busy with my basketball web site, and my job, I have still managed to follow what has been going on in the tropics the past couple of weeks. I have been following Hurricane Bill as it trekked through the Atlantic. Bill has been by far the strongest storm of the 2009 season thus far. The storm went through some rapid deepening earlier in the week, and became a Category Four Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale before dealing with some southwesterly shear.

Although it has weakened to just barely being a major hurricane with winds of 115 miles per hour, Bill is still a formidable storm to deal with if you’re in the shipping lanes right now. The biggest threats, however as it goes between the East Coast of the United States, and Bermuda, will be the high waves, heavy surf, and dangerous rip currents. All along the East Coast of the United States, wave heights will begin to build on Friday afternoon, and continue throughout the weekend as the storm system makes its closest approach to the United States coastline. Bill is a large storm system with hurricane force winds extending some 115 miles from the center while tropical storm force winds extend some 290 miles. Large swells are already affecting Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Bermuda.

If you are planning to head to the beach this weekend, it is probably a good idea to stay out of the water, especially starting this afternoon. Rip currents are very dangerous, and account for about 80 percent of all rescues performed by beach lifeguards as well as for approximately 100 deaths per year along U.S. beaches. Meanwhile, interests in New England as well as the Canadian Maritime areas of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland should closely monitor the progress of this storm system as it tracks to the northwest and then north.