Skip Navigation Links
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration logo National Weather Service logo United States Department of Commerce

Tropical Storm OTTO


ZCZC MIATCDAT2 ALL
TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM
TROPICAL STORM OTTO DISCUSSION NUMBER  17
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL   AL172010
500 AM AST SUN OCT 10 2010
 
THE SATELLITE PRESENTATION OF OTTO CONTINUES TO DETERIORATE.  THE
LOW-LEVEL CENTER IS NOW COMPLETELY EXPOSED TO THE SOUTH OF A LARGE
SHIELD OF CIRRUS AND A FEW BURSTS OF CONVECTION...AND THE CYCLONE IS
LOOKING INCREASINGLY EXTRATROPICAL.  THE INTENSITY IS SET AT 55 KT
BASED ON A DVORAK ESTIMATE OF T3.0/4.0 FROM TAFB.  STRONG VERTICAL
SHEAR AND COLDER WATERS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE WEAKENING
OTTO...AND THE NHC INTENSITY FORECAST IS BASED ON A BLEND OF THE
GFS...GFDL...AND HWRF MODELS.  THESE MODELS PROBABLY HAVE A BETTER
HANDLE ON THE MID-LATITUDE ENVIRONMENT THAN THE SHIPS/LGEM
MODELS...WHICH APPEAR TO WEAKEN THE CYCLONE TOO FAST.  IT SHOULD BE
NOTED THAT THE GFS AND ECMWF RE-ENERGIZE OTTO BY THE END OF THE
FORECAST PERIOD...SO THE OFFICIAL FORECAST COULD BE A LITTLE LOW ON
DAYS 4 AND 5.
 
OTTO IS EMBEDDED WITHIN STRONG FLOW TO THE SOUTH OF A MID/
UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH AND IS MOVING 65 DEGREES AT 34 KT.  THE FLOW
AHEAD OF OTTO IS EXPECTED TO SPLIT IN THE NEXT 24-36 HOURS...AND
THIS SHOULD CAUSE THE CYCLONE TO DECELERATE AND TURN
SOUTHEASTWARD...MOVING AROUND THE APEX OF A MID-LEVEL RIDGE
EXTENDING ACROSS THE AZORES.  THE EXTRATROPICAL LOW IS THEN
EXPECTED TO BECOME EMBEDDED WITHIN A LARGE CYCLONIC GYRE CURRENTLY
NEAR WESTERN EUROPE ON DAYS 3 THROUGH 5.  BASED ON THE NEW MODEL
GUIDANCE...THE OFFICIAL TRACK FORECAST IS A LITTLE FASTER THAN THE
PREVIOUS ONE FOR THE FIRST 36 HOURS OR SO.  THE ENTIRE FORECAST
TRACK IS MIRRORED MAINLY ON A CONSENSUS OF THE GFS...ECMWF...
UKMET...AND GFDL.
 
FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS
 
INITIAL      10/0900Z 35.3N  45.0W    55 KT
 12HR VT     10/1800Z 38.1N  39.2W    50 KT...POST-TROP/EXTRATROP
 24HR VT     11/0600Z 41.5N  32.4W    45 KT...POST-TROP/EXTRATROP
 36HR VT     11/1800Z 43.4N  27.5W    45 KT...POST-TROP/EXTRATROP
 48HR VT     12/0600Z 42.4N  25.1W    40 KT...POST-TROP/EXTRATROP
 72HR VT     13/0600Z 39.5N  23.5W    35 KT...POST-TROP/EXTRATROP
 96HR VT     14/0600Z 37.0N  21.5W    30 KT...POST-TROP/EXTRATROP
120HR VT     15/0600Z 36.5N  19.0W    30 KT...POST-TROP/EXTRATROP
 
$$
FORECASTER BERG
 
NNNN