Hurricane Jeanne May Turn West After Killing Hundreds in Haiti

Miami, FL (HDW) September 22, 2004 – Hurricane Jeanne, after killing over 500 people in Haiti, is now strengthening to the east of the Bahamas. Hurricane Jeanne may hit the eastern United States early next week. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting that the hurricane will turn westward by Thursday, and could move towards one of several potential destinations from Florida to southern Virginia. The picture displayed above was taken by NOAA, and it displays the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ivan in Pensacola, Florida last week. Hurricane Jeanne could follow Ivan as another one of the many hurricanes that have devastated Florida in the last 2 months.

At present, Hurricane Jeanne is moving south with maximum sustained winds near 100 miles per hour (160 km/hr). Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the eye of the storm, while tropical storm force winds extend outward by up to 140 miles. Dangerous rip currents along the southeastern U.S. coast are possible over the next few days. The below 5-day forecast map displays NOAA’s most recent predictions Hurricane Jeanne’s path.