The Eleutheran - Eleuthera News, Sport and much more from Eleuthera: Hurricane Shelters Open - NEMA Eleuthera List Hurricane Shelters Open - NEMA Eleuthera List ================================================================================ admin on 04 September, 2008 Officials yesterday announced that the Shelters throughout The Bahamas were to be opened at midnight on Wednesday and were expected to remain open. The Eleutheran obtained a list of 34 shelters for the island of Eleuthera which have been posted on the website (link) Tropical Storm Hanna is projected to pass close to the East coast of Eleuthera between Thursday and Friday morning. Residents should also begin to pay some attention to Hurricane IKE which on Thursday September 04, was a Category 4 hurricane over open water traveling in a direction that could impact the Bahamas eventually. Forecasters do caution however that it is too early at this point to specify what land, if any, IKE will strike as the error in the 4-5 day projection is too large. The 8:00am Advisory from the National Hurricane Center in Miami is as follows: ...HANNA PASSING NEAR THE BAHAMAS... AT 800 AM EDT...1200 UTC...THE GOVERNMENT OF THE BAHAMAS HAS DISCONTINUED THE TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR THE SOUTHEASTERN BAHAMAS AND FOR THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE CENTRAL AND NORTHWESTERN BAHAMAS. A HURRICANE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SURF CITY NORTH CAROLINA SOUTHWESTWARD TO NORTH OF EDISTO BEACH SOUTH CAROLINA...AND A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM EDISTO BEACH SOUTHWESTWARD TO ALTAMAHA SOUND GEORGIA. FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE. AT 800 AM AST...1200Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM HANNA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 24.1 NORTH...LONGITUDE 73.1 WEST OR ABOUT 280 MILES...455 KM...EAST-SOUTHEAST OF NASSAU AND ABOUT 760 MILES...1220 KM...SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF WILMINGTON NORTH CAROLINA. HANNA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 12 MPH...19 KM/HR...AND THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...WITH A GRADUAL INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED. ON THIS TRACK...THE CENTER OF HANNA WILL PASS JUST EAST OF THE CENTRAL AND NORTHWESTERN BAHAMAS TODAY...AND WILL BE NEAR THE SOUTHEAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES BY FRIDAY OR FRIDAY NIGHT. HOWEVER...RAINS AND WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH HANNA WILL REACH THE COAST WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE CENTER. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 70 MPH...110 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SLIGHT STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...AND HANNA COULD BECOME A HURRICANE BEFORE REACHING THE SOUTHEAST U.S. COAST. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 290 MILES...465 KM FROM THE CENTER. THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE RECENTLY REPORTED BY A NOAA RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT WAS 989 MB...29.20 INCHES. COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 1 TO 3 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS CAN BE EXPECTED IN AREAS OF ONSHORE WINDS WITHIN THE TROPICAL STORM WARNING AREA.