Hurricane Tammy Update: Storm Threatens Bermuda with Heavy Rain, Gusty Winds This Weekend

Hurricane Tammy has continued to traverse the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean, potentially threatening Bermuda with heavy rain and gusty winds this coming weekend. According to weather forecasts as of Tuesday, October 24, the long-term outlook for Tammy became uncertain but is expected to weaken as the week progresses. However, Bermuda could experience coastal flooding, as the Atlantic storm had recently pummeled northern Caribbean with large waves.

Tammy coincides with a post-tropical cyclone or remnant, named "Tropical Depression Twenty-One," which made landfall in Central America, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Although the past several months have shown an active hurricane season for the Atlantic North America and its surrounding countries in the Caribbean, there are yet no expected hurricane or major hurricane to make landfall into the United States this week.

Hurricane Tammy Update

According to NHC monitoring, Hurricane Tammy has maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour and moving at a northeastward pattern at a speed of 8 miles per hour as of 5:00 p.m. AST (local time) on Tuesday. Tammy is still a tropical cyclone as per the latest update, which means that it has not been downgraded from its status as a Category 1 hurricane.

Initial weather forecasts of Tammy indicated that it will head towards the US by end of the week. Yet, its forecast track became inaccurate between midweek and the upcoming weekend. Still, meteorologists still warn that the Atlantic hurricane can still bring various weather hazards, including torrential rain and dangerous ocean waves (as also observed from previous hurricanes in the region).

Furthermore, forecasters expect Tammy will continue to cause swells and affect not only parts of the northeastern Caribbean islands, but also the Atlantic US coast, British Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico in the next few days. These swells caused by strong winds could lead to life-threatening surf conditions and rip currents.

Bermuda Hurricane Threat

As mentioned earlier, Hurricane Tammy could bring heavy rain and gusty winds to Bermuda by the weekend since its current location in the Atlantic Ocean is approximately 600 miles southeast from Bermuda.

Based on US radar data on Tuesday, a cold front was initially thought to sweep Tammy into a completely northward direction in the North Atlantic Ocean. Now, its segway northwest to Bermuda has become possible, similar to the NHC forecast.

Bermuda is located off the US East Coast, about 1,100 miles northeast of Miami, Florida. A British Overseas Territory, Bermuda had been susceptible to Atlantic storms and hurricanes in the past, as well as other countries in the Caribbean region.

In 2022, a Category 4 storm, named Hurricane Fiona, battered the region, and left a trail of destruction in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico before it headed to Bermuda. There have been reports of flooding and landslides, including in Puerto Rico. In the storm's aftermath, Fiona left multiple human fatalities.