Scary

Happy Halloween to all you storm fanatics out there. The only thing scary on the map this weekend is what Beta is about to do to the poor people of Nicaragua and Honduras. Beta is now a Category 1 Hurricane, our 23rd storm of the season. With maximum sustained winds of 90mph, Beta is slowly edging towards the Nicaraguan coastline this evening at 5mph. Although the winds will be very damaging to the coastal areas, the deforested mountain regions can expected isolated areas of 25+ inches of rain. This is just a disaster, probably the worst to hit this region since Hurricane Mitch. The death toll from Beta is going to be very high. It really is scary to think about the night these people are in for this evening. I have never seen or been near a mudslide, but they must be horrifying. There is no where to run or hide from something like that. Beta could end up 2nd to Katrina in number of lives taken after it crosses over Central America. Pray for these people this weekend. Beta could also end up affecting those of us in the CONUS mid-week. The moisture on the northern part of Beta is forecast to move into the Gulf of Mexico and combine with a developing "winter-type" low pressure system. This low is forecast to move across Florida and become a big Northeaster for those of us on the east coast. We will be keeping an eye on this as it develops. Happy Halloween.

PS: Don't forget to turn you clocks back 1 hour tonight. Fall - Back, Spring - Forward.

SCM