Hurricane Jose completed the long slow clockwise loop it made this week over the Atlantic Ocean and it turned back toward the U.S. At 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday the center of Hurricane Jose was located at latitude 27.1°N and longitude 70.3°W which put it about 640 miles (1025 km) southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Jose was moving toward the northwest at 10 m.p.h. (16 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 75 m.p.h. (120 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 90 m.p.h. (145 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 983 mb.
An eye appeared to be forming at the center of Hurricane Jose as the primary rainband wrapped around the eastern and northern portions of the developing eye. The strongest winds were occurring in that rainband. Additional bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the eastern half of the circulation. There were fewer showers and thunderstorms in the western half of the circulation.
Hurricane Jose is moving over the part of the Atlantic Ocean that the hurricane traversed several days ago. So, Jose is moving over cooler water that it mixed to the surface when it moved over the area the first time. Hurricane Jose will soon move northwest of its previous track and it will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 30°C. The upper level winds will be weak and there will be little vertical wind shear. Hurricane Jose will strengthen during the weekend and it could intensify rapidly once the eye and eyewall are fully formed.
After a few days of weak steering currents the large subtropical high pressure system over the Atlantic Ocean has started to steer Hurricane Jose toward the northwest. A general northwesterly motion is forecast to continue for another 24 to 36 hours. At that time Jose will reach the western end of the high and it will turn more toward the north. On its anticipated track Hurricane Jose could be near the Outer Banks of North Carolina in two or three days. It is still too early to know if the center of Hurricane Jose will move into the U.S.