Hurricane Joaquin to nearly hit Cape Cod this Tuesday

Hurricane Joaquin hits Cape Cod on Tuesday

Hurricane Joaquin, an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm, remains parked over the central Bahamas producing hurricane-force winds, storm surge flooding and torrential rain.

Dozens are trapped in their homes in the central Bahamas, with authorities unable to reach them. All schools have been closed in The Bahamas.

(MORE: Bahamas Latest News/Impacts)

The odds of the U.S. mainland seeing its first landfalling hurricane in 15 months are now very low as the forecast track continues to trend farther to the east. The storm could pass close to the southeast New England coast, and a close pass to Bermuda cannot be ruled out.

The Latest

• The official forecast path for the center of Joaquin no longer includes the U.S. East Coast.
• At 11 a.m. EDT Friday, the eye of Hurricane Joaquin was centered about 5 miles south of Rum Cay in the central Bahamas.
• Maximum sustained winds remain around 130 mph, making Joaquin a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
• Hurricane warnings remain in effect for a large part of the Bahamas. Tropical storm warnings are up for the Turks and Caicos Islands and eastern Cuba.
• Hurricane-force wind gusts have been reported on a few of the islands in the central Bahamas, but most weather observation sites near the eye of Joaquin are no longer reporting data.
• Joaquin underwent rapid intensification from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in less than 36 hours, and may fluctuate in intensity Friday before a slow weakening begins this weekend.
• This system has made the anticipated turn toward the north, though its forward motion remains very slow (only 3 mph). 
• Joaquin's northward motion will accelerate by Saturday as it finally departs the Bahamas.
• Dangerous coastal and inland flooding is still expected for several states along the U.S. East Coast through the weekend despite the low likelihood of Joaquin making landfall.
• For now, Joaquin is expected to pass sufficiently west of Bermuda Sunday to limit any direct impacts.

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