ATLANTA — Sunday, Oscar made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on northern coast of eastern Cuba AT 5:50pm EDT. Maximum sustained winds were near 80 mph.
Oscar is now weakening. It's moving over the Bahamas early Tuesday and will pull away by later Wednesday. The central and lower Bahamian Islands are in tropical storm warnings.
Remnants of Oscar are forecast to turn Northeastward into the Atlantic's open water and loose its tropical characteristics. Oscar is NOT expected to impact the continental U.S. directly, but could later cause large swells on the east coast.
Through Tuesday, rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches are expected, with isolated amounts around 6 inches in the Bahamas.
How many hurricanes have there been this season?
The 2024 Hurricane Season will leave its mark forever. Oscar is the 15th named storm in the Atlantic Basin, preceded by Tropical Storm Nadine, which formed just hours before.
So far there have been ten hurricanes. Four of the nine hurricanes reached major hurricane status, a category three or higher. This included Helene, which was the U.S.'s deadliest hurricane since Katrina. Thirty-three Georgians lost their lives in Helene, and nearly 100 lost their lives in North Carolina.
Although the season's "peak" is more than a month away, there is still a way to go. Hurricane season officially ends on November 30, in about six weeks.
