Hurricane Joaquin intensified very rapidly on Wednesday and it reached Major Hurricane intensity. At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday night the center of Hurricane Joaquin was located at latitude 23.8°N and longitude 73.1°W which put it about 90 miles (145 km) east of San Salvador and about 750 miles (1215 km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Joaquin was moving toward the southwest at 6 m.p.h. (10 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 115 m.p.h. (185 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 140 m.p.h. (220 km/h). The wind speed made Joaquin a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale and a Major Hurricane. The minimum surface pressure was 951 mb. The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) was 20.6, the Hurricane Size Index (HSI) was 11.6, and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) was 32.2.
A Hurricane Warning has been issued for the Central Bahamas including Cat Island, the Exumas, Long Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador. A Hurricane Warning has been issued for the Northwestern Bahamas including the Abacos, Berry Islands, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Island and New Providence. A Hurricane Watch has been issued for Bimini and Andros Island. A Tropical Storm Warning has been issued for Andros Island and the Southeastern Bahamas including the Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Cay, the Inaguas, Mayguana and the Ragged Islands.
Joaquin has a well formed structure. The circulation is fairly symmetrical, although there are more spiral bands of thunderstorms south and east of the center. The hurricane is over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 30°C. A narrow upper level ridge west of Joaquin is causing light northerly winds over the circulation, but those winds did not inhibit rapid intensification on Wednesday. The convection generated upper level divergence which pumped out mass and caused the pressure to decrease quickly. Further intensification is possible during the next 24 hours, although if an eyewall replacement occurs, it would interrupt that process. An upper level trough over the eastern U.S. will generate more vertical wind shear in a day or two and Joaquin will start to weaken.
A ridge north of Joaquin is blocking the hurricane and forcing it to move toward the southwest. The ridge will weaken in a day or so and the upper level trough will start to steer Joaquin toward the north. When the hurricane starts moving northward, it will also begin to move faster. It could be approaching the Mid-Atlantic Coast by later on Saturday.