Fabian WNW??? They don't believe even themselves...

[The_Cycloman_PR]

11 PM AST SAT AUG 30 2003

...FABIAN CONTINUES TO INTENSIFY...MOVING WEST-NORTHWEST...

AT 11 PM AST...0300Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE FABIAN WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 17.7 NORTH...LONGITUDE 50.8 WEST OR ABOUT 710
MILES...1150 KM...EAST OF THE LESSER ANTILLES.


Look to the floater moviloop and you'll see a clear westward movement of Fabian. May NHC forgive me but I don't see the wnw motion they are saying.


http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/DATA/RT/float-ir4-loop.html

[Derek Ortt]

Storm is moving to the WNW. Typically, these systems move in tight cyclonic loops, giving transient appearances of a motion different from the 12 hourly average

[The_Cycloman_PR]

Sorry Derek, I may be looking to the wrong floater! but in the satellite I am looking right now it moved from 50W to 51W without even a single inch to the north. Just my not expert apreciation.

Cycloman

[chadtm80]

Guess there just refering to the "Overall" Track... But all i have seen in the last 5 hours or so is W.

[The_Cycloman_PR]

Of course, of course!!, that's what I have seen also.

Cycloman.

That's does'nt mean I think it's coming!! I still think it will miss the islands,
but I wont feel relax until it passed our area, I mean 68W. Dereck...You have a tremendous meteorological knowledge and you're probably right about the wnw motion, I'am just pointing my observation of what I think is a recent west movement of this hurricane. I think tomorow I will have a better idea of the wnw track if it is well north of 18N in the satellite picture. You have a great knowledge and I admire that. I am deeply sorry if I disagree with you at this moment and hope that does'nt make you mad!

[wow]

From the discussion:
"FABIAN HAS BEEN MOVING IN A GENERAL WEST TO WEST-NORTHWEST TRACK AT ABOUT 11 KT AND IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN ALONG THIS COURSE THORUGH THE NEXT 72 HOURS."

[ColdFront77]

Looking at the satelllite loop it is clear that the eye has been moving due west.

Sure, there is reason for the National Hurricane Center to indicate Fabian having a west-northwestward motion, if and when it shows a true westward motion if it does so.

[wxman57]

I may disagree totally with the NHC on Grace, but I agree 100% on a WNW motion. We've set up a 24-frame loop that has latitude/longitude ticks on it. I can clearly see a steady WNW motion since 7pm yesterday. The eye is not as easy to see now, but it's north of 18N. You may be running into an optical illusion if your satellite doesn't have lat/lon ticks or if you let your eye follow the convection without focusing on the center. The eye was well-formed in the center of convection last night, but now it's almost hidden and to the NORTHERN side of the convection. The concentration of convection south of the center may present the illusion that the center is farther south.

[ColdFront77]

Believe me, I agree with Hurricane Fabian's west-northwestward motion yesterday afternoon and last night.

The general movement for a much less period of time had a more westward movement. That is all I meant. Sorry.