Hurricane Chris - The First Hurricane of the 2012 Hurricane Season

Chris has intensified to become the first hurricane of the Season.

Hurricane Chris, 2012

He was Tropical Storm Chris Yesterday.  Today, He's Hurricane Chris, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.

(An FYI - Again this year, I'm keeping track of the season in a seasonal hurricane journal.  You can find it at Atlantic Basin 2012 Hurricane Season Journal.)

Not to worry - Hurricane Chris is way out to sea, and forecast to stay that way.  Currently around 600 miles to the southeast of Newfoundland's Cape Race, he's moving northeast right now, but is expected to loop around over the next day or two.  By then, he will have spent time over some pretty cool water, so is expected to transition into a post tropical cyclone before petering out.

The track from the NHC shows all this happening out at sea.  Thank you, Chris.  May you show the way for those who might follow, and may all our 2012 hurricanes avoid any encounters with land!

PS - Bone up on all the 2012 Hurricane Names here.