27 Mar 2004 20:16:44 GMT
Brazil denies hurricane, but braces for winds
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, March 27 (Reuters) - Brazil's official weather service on Saturday said a cyclone with strong winds and rain was approaching its southern area, but denied it was a hurricane as U.S. meteorologists said earlier.
"Brazil has never had hurricanes and it is not having one now," said Kelen Andrade, a meteorologist with the state Weather Forecasting and Climatic Studies Center (CPTEC).
On Friday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the first hurricane ever was forming in the south Atlantic off the coast of Brazil, classifying it as a Category 1 hurricane -- the least powerful on forecasters' five-level scale.
But Andrade said that while satellite images could have suggested a hurricane, more detailed studies showed a different weather pattern.
The main difference, she said, is that the eye of a hurricane is hot, while the center of an extratropical cyclone, that forms above colder waters, is cold.
"And the speed of the winds that cyclones bring is about twice as low, so we don't expect anything catastrophic, although strong rains and winds may affect Santa Catarina state. The cyclone has reached the land already," she said.
The maximum wind speed in the center of the coming cyclone is about 50 mph (80 kph), CPTEC said. In some areas of the southern state of Santa Catarina wind was blowing at 12 mph (20 kph).
State Gov. Luiz Henrique da Silveira told Globo News television that emergency rescue teams were on alert in case of heavy downpour and winds, which often provoke disasters such as mudslides in Brazil.
The Brazilian Navy issued a warning of strong winds and high waves of up to 16 feet (5 metres) in the area. But officials at the Itajai port in Santa Catarina said no preparations were being made for the storm and work continued as usual.
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