Hanna's Track Trends East as it Heads Toward D.C.

A first call on local impacts

Latest forecast track for Hanna from the National Hurricane Center.

Hanna has remained a tropical storm today, with sustained winds near 60 mph, as it moves slowly north away from Haiti and the Dominican Republic. While it has not strengthened since yesterday, it has become larger with tropical storm force winds extending almost 300 miles from its center.

Weather Underground's Jeff Masters predicts Hanna will make landfall in North Carolina or South Carolina as a strong tropical storm or weak Category 1 hurricane. I concur. But when? The National Hurricane Center, which yesterday had the storm making landfall Friday night, now predicts it will come ashore Saturday morning. The timing forecast will likely continue to fluctuate.

Keep reading for a first call on D.C. area impacts from Hanna and an interactive tracking map. Also, see our full forecast through the weekend, and UnitedCast and NatCast for the forecast for tonight's games.

Probability of experiencing tropical storm force winds (sustained at more than 39 mph) from Hanna. Green stripe through D.C. metro area represents a 10-20% chance. Border of light green-yellow stripes along Eastern Shore represents a 30% chance. Click here for enlarged graphic and legend.

As for where Hanna goes after making landfall, computer models have been shifting the storm's track to the east as it races quickly up the East Coast, affecting the D.C. area on Saturday. That would probably keep the best chance of tropical storm force winds (sustained at more than 39 mph) along the Eastern Shore, leaving the metro area with weaker but still strong and gusty winds on Saturday -- ballpark guess would be sustained winds at 25-35 mph with occasional gusts to 55-65 mph. This is just an early guess and could very well change.

On the current forecast track, rain could be heavy at times on Saturday across the region with some thunderstorms in the mix as well. But if the track shifts even further to the east, then so too could the heaviest rains. Hanna will be a fast-mover, which should help to keep maximum rainfall totals to under 5 inches and thus limit (but not eliminate) flooding problems. With the potential for wind and rain, power outages will be a concern as well.

A shift in track back to the west could result in tropical storm force winds and torrential rains over the metro area, along with a tidal flooding threat.

Track Hanna and other tropical systems with the interactive map below.

Powered by hurricane-tracking software from Stormpulse.com. Forecast tracks are the latest from the National Hurricane Center. Pan, zoom, and click on points along the storm's projected track for intensity forecasts.