Powerful Sam stays the course as Category 4 hurricane amid track shift
The Atlantic hurricane season is inching closer to reaching the end of the main 2021 storm name list, with Sam chugging through the ocean as a major Category 4 storm.
With an ample amount of warm Atlantic waters at its disposal, Sam has undergone intensification since the storm first appeared last week. On Saturday, Sam became as a major hurricane when it crossed the Category 3 threshold, then reached Category 4 later that day.
Sam remains a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 240 km/h and even higher gusts. Some fluctuations in intensity are expected during the next day or so and some slow weakening is forecast.
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As of 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the hurricane was about 1,415 km east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands and moving west-northwest near 11 km/h. Sam is expected to turn towards the northwest on Monday and continue on this track over the next few days.
Forecasters are keeping an eye on Sam for potential Canadian impacts, but it is much too early to know whether Atlantic Canada will be threatened by Hurricane Sam in the next 10-14 days.
"The most likely scenario is that Sam will recurve and stay out to sea and not be a major threat to Canada or the U.S., but [pose] a threat to Bermuda. However, it is still possible that Sam will take a more southerly track and be a threat to the southeastern U.S. in roughly 9-12 days, or the storm could take a turn far enough to the west that it would be a threat to Atlantic Canada in 10-14 days," says Dr. Doug Gillham, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.
Sam is the seventh hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic season. Hurricane season traditionally runs from June 1st to Nov. 30, with substantial flexibility on either side of that range.
Be sure to check back for the latest updates on the Atlantic hurricane season.
