Weather experts are carefully tracking Tropical Storm Jerry as it approaches the Caribbean and is projected to become a potential hurricane based on several models. The storm was originally seen developing off the coast of Africa several days ago in the aftermath of Hurricane Imelda and was seen as a potential tropical depression that could develop over the week. As of October 7, Jerry has been officially called a tropical storm and may threaten the northern Caribbean by the end of the week. Here’s where Tropical Storm Jerry’s path is expected to go and if it will impact the United States.
What is Tropical Storm Jerry’s expected path?
Fortunately, weather models on October 7 have Tropical Storm Jerry curling north after approaching the Caribbean and then moving east over the Atlantic without hitting the US.
These projections are based on various forecasts from Tropical Tidbits, as seen on the October 7 spaghetti models (per the image above). The majority of the trackers for Tropical Storm Jerry have it moving north into the Atlantic around Saturday, October 10. This fits the October 7 prediction from the NOAA, which projects that the storm could head toward Bermuda by Sunday, October 11.
However, there is the possibility that it will slide across the northern Caribbean and subsequently impact Puerto Rico. It’s still somewhat early to know where the storm will be heading precisely. As a reminder, Hurricane Imelda was originally projected to hit the US near North Carolina, but over the course of a day, it was then expected to miss the US altogether. Projections for Hurricane Imelda were difficult, though, due to the pull from Hurricane Humberto nearby, so Tropical Storm Jerry is looking more predictable than Imelda was.
As for the strength of Tropical Storm Jerry, it is expected to become a hurricane by late Wednesday. The latest intensity models for the storm are unsure on whether the storm will become a Category 1, 2, 3, or even 4 hurricane, so we’ll have to see how strong it becomes over the course of the week.
