FLHurricane.com: First Day of 2009 Season

The feature which is now Invest 92L has become much better organized than 36-48 hours ago, and has clearly been taking on progressively more and more classic tropical characteristics, even at its relatively high latitude and while over cooler waters.

Invest 92L is looking more and more like one of those high seas subtropical-tropical hybrids that occasionally make it into the record books with a name.

Here are some of the latest Dvorak classifications of 92L from SSD:

DATE/TIME LAT LON CLASSIFICATION STORM
02/1800 UTC 44.0N 24.1W ST3.0 92L
02/1200 UTC 42.7N 23.8W ST3.0 92L
02/0600 UTC 41.7N 23.8W ST2.5 92L
01/2345 UTC 40.7N 23.9W ST2.5 INVEST
01/1745 UTC 39.9N 24.7W ST1.5 INVEST

And the latest estimated range from AMSU:

INVEST 92L
Tuesday 02jun09 Time: 0714 UTC
Latitude: 42.49 Longitude: -23.59
Storm position corresponds to AMSU-A FOV 27 [1<--->30]
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| Estimated MSLP: 984 hPa
| Estimated Maximum Sustained Wind: 55 kts
| Estimate Confidence: Fair ( +/- 10mb +/- 12kts )

As of 2PM EDT, estimates of intensity and wind speed so far today are in a wide range from about 972-996mb, with maximum sustained wind estimates of between roughly 40 and 75 mph.

I have read speculation that it appears that there may be some hesitation to forecast more liberally on 92L than what might otherwise be expected given its impressive structure, in some part, because of the proximity to RSMC La Réunion-Tropical Cyclone Centre/Météo-France, but I have no knowledge of the legitimacy of such a claim.

Time-sensitive Visible Loop of 92L

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