- A giant storm with hurricane force winds was seen swirling eastward across the Atlantic Ocean, NOAA indicated
- It is expected to lessen in strength, but parts of the United Kingdom may experience 'stormy conditions'
- Two other storms are also barreling across the Atlantic Ocean - Hurricane Fay and Hurricane Gonzalo
- Gonzalo has already battered the West Indies - downing trees, flooding streets and destroying buildings - and could become a category four storm as it heads towards Bermuda
- A monster comma-shaped storm stretching across nearly the whole North Atlantic is threatening to wreak havoc on both sides of the ocean.Video of the massive storm was released by the National Weather Service Ocean Prediction Center (NWSOPC) to YouTube as hurricane force winds developed at its center creating waves as high as 50-feet.But it is only one of three huge depressions currently filling the ocean, with Hurricane Fay and Hurricane Gonzalo also barreling towards land.Gonzalo has already battered islands across the West Indies, with images revealing destroyed boats, down trees and debris strewn across beaches in Guadeloupe, Saint Barthelemy and Saint-Martin on Tuesday.Now the storm, which could reach a category four today, is poised to hit Bermuda later this week with sustained winds of more than 110 miles per hour.Scroll down for video
On the move: The giant storm is seen across the Atlantic Ocean, with two other storms, Hurricane Fay and Hurricane Gonzalo, below
Joining forces: Another satellite image taken on Wednesday shows Hurricane Gonzalo, lower right, as it heads towards Bermuda
Danger: Red near the center of the storm indicates hurricane force, according to NOAAThe Washington Post reported Tuesday that 'the storm rapidly intensified between Sunday and Monday. Its central pressure dropped 46 mb in 24 hours (from 1002 mb to 956 mb) – a textbook meteorological bomb. Late Monday, the storm’s pressure likely bottomed out around 948 mb which is comparable to levels in many category 3 hurricanes'.Pressure went up again slightly, the newspaper reported, but said that '[g]raduated weakening is forecast over the next few days before it likely brings stormy conditions to the northern British Isles Friday into the weekend'.
There were 50-foot waves because of the storm, Mashable reported.
Much
further south, Hurricane Gonzalo gathered strength moving over open
water away from the eastern end of the Caribbean, and forecasters said
it could become a powerful category 4 storm Wednesday as it headed
toward Bermuda.
Authorities
on some of the smaller islands buffeted by Gonzalo said at least one
person was dead and two were missing. Dozens of boats were damaged and
power was knocked out in the Dutch Caribbean territory of St. Maarten.
Destruction: Destroyed buildings can be seen along the beach of Point a Pitre, Guadeloupe on Tuesday after Gonzalo swept through
Wreckage: The storm picked up even more strength as it left Guadeloupe (pictured) and could become a Category 4 storm
Shaken: A woman walks past damaged
trees in Orient Bay on the French Caribbean island of Saint Martin on
Tuesday. Three people are missing at sea after the hurricane Gonzalo
swept through the French Caribbean islands of Saint Barthelemy and
Saint-Martin
The
storm had top sustained winds of nearly 125 mph (205 kph) and was
centered about 705 miles (1,135 kilometers) south of Bermuda late on
Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It was moving
northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).
The
center said Gonzalo could become a category 4 hurricane during the day
while it takes a path that would take it near Bermuda on Friday.
Category 4 storms have sustained winds of at least 130 mph (209 kph)
with the potential to cause catastrophic damage.
'Folks
in Bermuda are going to need to start paying attention to this thing,'
Dennis Feltgen, a National Hurricane Center meteorologist, said by
phone.
Bermuda's
government posted a hurricane watch for the British territory, urging
islanders to keep an eye on the storm's progress.
Officials said flights departing Bermuda on Thursday, Friday and Saturday were fully booked.
Gonzalo
was blamed for the death of an unidentified elderly man who was aboard a
boat in St. Maarten's Simpson Bay Lagoon, which looked like a ship
graveyard Tuesday with several masts protruding from the water.
Acting Coast Guard Director Wendell Thode said 22 of the 37 boats destroyed by the storm were in the lagoon.
Havoc: A picture shows damaged utility poles in the aftermath of the hurricane Gonzola on October 14, 204 on Saint Martin
Floods: Streets are flooded following hurricane Gonzola in Marigot on the French Caribbean island of Saint Martin on Tuesday
Aftermath: Residents survey the damage in Point a Pitre, Guadeloupe after the hurricane swept through on Tuesday
'Most of the boats that are destroyed are completely under water,' he said.
Authorities
were searching for a man last seen on a dinghy near the French
Caribbean territory of St. Martin and another man last seen standing
close to a harbor in St. Barts, said Matthieu Doligez, general secretary
of the prefecture in St. Martin.
Amy Arrindell, vice president of the St. Maarten Zoological and Botanical Foundation, said the St. Maarten Zoo was heavily damaged but no animals escaped or died. She said trees were uprooted, the petting zoo was destroyed and the animals' enclosures were flooded.
'There is major damage to the structure,' she said. 'It is total devastation.
