Hurricane Ana

Map of potential Hurricane Ana 2009 and Ana’s distance from the Leeward Islands. Possible Hurricane Ana has the Leeward Islands on storm watch Saturday. But before you become too alert, understand how far Ana really is from the Leeward Islands. The National Weather Service says Ana is nearly 1000 miles from Leeward, and while press are discussing the Islands today, hurricane reports says the possible concern would be Monday, not this weekend.

As of Saturday, Ana is at tropical storm status, and is increasing, slowly but steadily, with the growth to be seen by Sunday. Ana isn’t moving very fast either - at about 16 mph west. At that rate, forecasters say Ana’s center could be near the Leeward islands by Monday. Ana’s core is producing 40 mph winds; but forecasters say by Sunday that could increase substantially.

Hurricane Ana may strike Miami by Thursday morning, devastating our newly revamped skyline, swamping our coastal streets and sending our economy spiraling downwards into a blighted abyss. Or it may strike anywhere else between Cuba and South Carolina, an 800-mile region that encompasses a large chunk of “Hurricane Alley.” She is still a tropical storm, toddling along about 2,000 miles away in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the National Weather Service.