Hurricane Melissa: Melissa is on its way to Bermuda & will impact the island later this afternoon and tonight.

Reconnaissance aircraft investigating Melissa have found that the hurricane is about a 105 mph hurricane with a 965 minimum barometric pressure. Additionally, satellite imagery reveals that an eye wall seems to be wrapping around what appears to be the beginning of a new eye forming. This says to me that Melissa will probably strengthen this afternoon into tonight & may become a low-end Category 3 hurricane as it passes very near Bermuda during tonight.

As Melissa passes near Bermuda, it will likely bring hurricane conditions to the island during tonight. While a close pass to the island looks likely, it appears that a direct hit to Bermuda is not expected.

Melissa will then distance itself from Bermuda on Friday as it rapidly moves to the northeast. This northeastward track will lead to Melissa passing near the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland on Saturday morning as an extra-tropical hurricane-strength storm.

Beyond this, we will finally be able to say goodbye to Melissa.

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Elsewhere Across The Atlantic, Caribbean & Gulf: The rest of the Atlantic Basin is quiet today & it appears that tropical development anywhere else is highly unlikely for at least the next week.

Now, the question is are we now completely done with the hurricane season? Since we are in weak La Nina conditions right now, I do think it’s possible that we might see one or two more tropical systems form during the month of November. That said, any tropical systems that form in November typically do so in the deep southwestern Caribbean or out in the middle of the Atlantic. It’s usually very rare to see a tropical storm or hurricane approach the US coast in November. It’s happened, yes, but it’s fairly rare.

For now though, all looks quiet for at least the next week, if not longer.

The next tropical weather discussion will be issued on Friday.