Hurricane Joaquin Forms Off Bahamas, Not Expected to Threaten Miami

Remember in August when half of Miami was losing its mind over the possibility of Tropical Storm Erika coming our way? Yeah, well now Joaquin, which has reached full hurricane status, is closer to us as a full-fledged cyclone than Erika ever was as a mere tropical storm. In fact, it's just a few hundred miles east as it prepares to head toward the Bahamas. 

But don't worry. The storm probably won't affect us that much at all. It's expected to sneak a bit into the Bahamas, and then take a swift turn to the north.

In fact, it could slide right into those DMs (DMs meaning Delaware and Maryland), keeping Miami's 10-year hurricane-free streak alive. 

That's the National Hurricane Center's latest cone of caution above. You'll notice that the projected track actually heads a bit back out east before turning north. This thing is supposed to curve-ball right past us. 

In fact, its track is looking awfully similar to Hurricane Sandy, which hit New York back in 2012. 


Not that the chances of the storm actually hitting New York City are very high, but the local media there is already on high alert. 

Miami (and all of Florida), of course, hasn't been hit by a hurricane in over ten years. In that same time New York has been hit by two hurricanes, a tropical storm, and has felt the dramatic effects of a few other systems that didn't make landfall. It has been a strange time for weather indeed. 

Wherever the storm goes, it's expected to bring heavy rains to the Carolinas all the way up to New England. 

Meanwhile, here's the forecast for the weekend in Miami via Accuweather. 

Of course, like all early Miami forecasts this time of year, take it with a grain of salt, but I'm already making my beach plans.