SEBASTIAN – Hurricane Jose is a small hurricane just off the coast of Sebastian and Vero Beach and is expected to loop that may bring it near the Bahamas this weekend.
Hurricane Jose was 840 miles east of Florida Wednesday, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, making it a Category 1 storm.
On Tuesday, the popular Euro spaghetti model showed landfall near Indian River County. The Euro model has been the most accurate tracker for any hurricane, predicting Irma’s path on the west coast of Florida while most of the other models suggested the east coast.
At this time, the storm is no threat to Sebastian or Vero Beach as computer models suggest it will stay out to sea while completing a clockwise loop.
“This evolution should cause Jose to make a slow clockwise loop during the next 3 days and then turn northward and northeastward once it moves around the western side of the ridge,” the National Hurricane Center stated.
The westward motion is the result of a ridge of high pressure to the north and then east of the storm. The strength and location of this ridge will determine how far Jose moves westward before eventually turning north and then east again.
Hurricane Jose’s impact is sure to be felt near the Sebastian Inlet, bringing rough seas.