Hurricane Fran, as seen through the eye of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's GOES 8 satellite, nears the southeastern
United States. These images, hot off the satellite, show a hurricane
packing 115-mph winds and threatening the southeast coast of the United
States. Fran, already a powerful storm, is projected to grow in strength
as it gathers energy from warm ocean waters. Forecasters at the National
Hurricane Center said Fran's projected path has the hurricane striking
shore near Charleston, S.C. Thursday (Sept. 5) evening. Fran's path and
intensity are alarmingly similar to Hurricane Hugo, a storm with 140-mph
winds that blasted ashore with devastating effect in 1989, causing nearly
$8 billion in damage and killing 35 people as it slashed coastal areas from
the Caribbean to the eastern seaboard of the United States.
Picture courtesy of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (a part of the Space Science and Engineering Center) at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. Image credit: Chris Velden.
