Norbert gathers strength by Tomasz Schafernaker
Hurricane Norbert strengthened into a powerful category 4 storm on Wednesday, as it continued to track towards Mexico’s Pacific coast. Currently sustaining winds of around 135mph (215kph), the hurricane is forecast to make landfall on Saturday, but is expected to weaken before it hits the coast.
Hurricane Norbert is a deep area of low pressure, currently located to the south of a region of high pressure further along the western coast of America. Due to the pressure difference between them, strong winds are able to develop between the systems. One such feature which develops in the autumn and winter months are the dry Santa Ana winds which sweep through southern California and northern Baja.
Hurricanes of Norbert’s strength are unusual over the cooler waters of the western Pacific. They are commonly formed over the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where they use the greater amount of available energy from the water to intensify.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Centre are also monitoring Tropical Depression Odile, following on behind Norbert. As of Thursday morning, the storm was taking a similar path to Norbert but is not expected to make landfall.
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