Sept. 15, 2003 — The NOAA National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla., reports that at 11 p.m. EDT the center of Hurricane Isabel was located near latitude 26.1 north, longitude 70.2 west or about 710 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C. This position is also about 480 miles east of Nassau in the Bahamas. Isabel is moving toward the northwest near 7 mph, and this general motion is expected to continue for the next 24 hours. (Click NOAA close-up satellite image for larger view of the eye of Hurricane Isabel taken on Sept. 15, 2003, at 3:15 p.m. EDT. Click here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit “NOAA.”)

(Click NOAA satellite image for larger view of dangerous Hurricane Isabel as the Eastern Seaboard awaits its arrival taken on Sept. 15, 2003, at 3:15 p.m. EDT. Click here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit “NOAA.”)

(Click close-up NOAA satellite image for larger view of Hurricane Isabel taken at 3:15 p.m. EDT on Sept. 15, 2003. Click here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit “NOAA.”)

(Click NOAA satellite image for larger view of Hurricane Isabel taking aim at the U.S. mainland taken on Sept. 15, 2003, at 3:15 p.m. EDT. Click here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit “NOAA.”)

Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 120 mph with higher gusts. Some slight additional weakening is possible on Tuesday.

Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 105 miles from the center, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 200 miles. (Click NOAA tracking map of Hurricane Isabel for larger view.)

The estimated minimum central pressure is 949 mb, 28.02 inches.

Interests from the Carolinas northward to southern New England, along the coast and inland, should closely monitor the progress of Isabel.

Large ocean swells and dangerous surf conditions are already being experienced along portions of the U.S. mid-Atlantic coastline. These conditions will also continue over portions of the Greater and Lesser Antilles, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the islands of the Bahamas for the next few days.

For storm information specific to your area, please monitor products issued by NOAA National Weather Service local forecast offices.

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NOAA Atlantic Hurricanes Database — 150 Years of Atlantic Hurricanes

NOAA Forecasters Say Six to Nine Hurricanes Could Threaten in 2003

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Media Contact:
Frank Lepore, NOAA Hurricane Center, (305) 229-4404