Erin is the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30.
Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of this year’s Atlantic season, is a Category 3, the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, downgrading the storm from Category 4 as the wind speed eased slightly.
The storm was 330 miles (530km) southeast of Grand Turk Island packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph), the NHC added early on Sunday.
The hurricane had been gauged as high as a catastrophic Category 5 with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (240 kph), then downgraded to a Category 4. It had earlier been forecast to strengthen into this week.
On Sunday, Erin was moving west-northwest at nearly 14 mph (22 kph) with a decrease in forward speed expected on Sunday and a turn to the north on Monday and Tuesday, the NHC said.
Swells generated by Erin will continue to affect parts of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands for the next couple of days, the NHC said. These swells will spread to the Bahamas, Bermuda, the east coast of the United States, and Atlantic Canada during the early and middle portions of the week.
Rough ocean conditions will likely cause life-threatening surf and rip currents, the NHC added.
The Bahamas, which provides some meteorological services for the Turks and Caicos Islands, has issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the British islands to its southeast.
A surfer rides a wave at La Pared Beach as Category 5 Hurricane Erin approaches in Luquillo, Puerto Rico [File: Ricardo Arduengo/AFP]
Erin has also raised concerns about wildfire risks, if human-caused sparks ignite parched vegetation and strong dry winds fan the flames. BMS Group Senior Meteorologist Andrew Siffert said these conditions could arise if Erin grows into a powerful offshore storm prompted by colliding warm and cold air rather than tropical seas.
The US government has deployed more than 200 employees from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies as a precaution. Puerto Rico Housing Secretary Ciary Perez Pena said 367 shelters were inspected and ready to open if needed.
Officials in the Bahamas are also preparing shelters and urging people to monitor the storm’s progress.
Erin is the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30 and is expected to be unusually busy. Six to 10 hurricanes are predicted for the season, including three to five reaching major status with winds of more than 177km/h (110mph).
Scientists have linked rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic to climate change. Global warming is causing the atmosphere to hold more water vapour and is spiking ocean temperatures, and warmer waters give hurricanes fuel to unleash more rain and strengthen more quickly.
Storms that ramp up so quickly complicate forecasting and make it harder for government agencies to plan for emergencies.
MEGHAN Markle’s heavily criticised Netflix show has been renewed for a second season as a new trailer dropped.
Footage showed the Duchess of Sussex alongside a host of famous guests ahead of the release of the second series of With Love, Meghan on August 26.
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Meghan Markle in the trailer for the second season of her show With Love, MeghanCredit: Instagram
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A number of stars are due to join the Duchess of Sussex in the new series
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The first season aired on Netflix in March, with the new series set to land on August 26Credit: Netflix
The first season of Meghan’s eight-part Netflix show saw her bee-keeping, making homemade candles and cooking with celeb pals, including Mindy Kaling and make-up artist Daniel Martin.
Now, the show’s second series promises to be “fun and heartwarming” as a plethora of celebrity guests are due to make their appearance.
This includes stars Chrissy Teigen, Christina Tosi, Jamie Kern Lima, and Tan France.
Describing the new season, Netflix said: “Meghan returns with a fun and heartwarming new season, welcoming celebrity chefs, talented artists, and beloved friends for hands-on adventures filled with laughter and discovery.
“From playful cooking challenges to DIY projects, Meghan and her guests explore bold flavors, experiment with new techniques, and discover simple ways to add beauty to everyday life.
“It’s all about embracing playfulness over perfection and finding joy in creating together.”
Meghan can be seen laughing alongside guests at her Montecito home in the trailer, even joking at the end about Prince Harry’s lack of love for lobster.
Speaking to Chef Andrés, she says: “You know who doesn’t like lobster? My husband.”
In response, the chef light-heartedly retorts: “And you married him anyway?”
They had secured a lucrative five-year contract – thought to be worth more than $100 million (£74 million) – with Netflix after quitting as senior working royals in 2020.
However, this new deal has been signed for “much less”, an insider told Page Six.
Meghan and Harry’s Netflix deal is extended as ‘special’ Christmas episode of cooking show & new documentary announced
Meghan said in a statement: “We’re proud to extend our partnership with Netflix and expand our work together to include the As Ever brand.
“My husband and I feel inspired by our partners who work closely with us and our Archewell Productions team to create thoughtful content across genres that resonates globally, and celebrates our shared vision.”
Netflix will only pay for projects they want to screen, rather than pay in a single multi-million pound agreement like the one signed in 2020, The Sun understands.
The Sun can also reveal, however, that the streaming giants will cover Archewell Productions’s overheads, including all costs for its offices and staff.
The new deal was also described as a “downgrade” by PR expert Mark Borkowski.
He told the Mail: “I think Netflix has done a very neat job of pivoting away from two very expensive people who didn’t deliver, and they’ve taken that deal off the table, and they’ve given them a modest one.
“It’s not like they’re gradually uncoupling – it’s a downgrade. Netflix are not going to expose themselves to those budgets again. It’s Netflix saying, ‘Let’s have a look at your content, but we’ll pick and choose, mate’.”
‘Meghan & Harry need to come up with a hit soon’
By Matt Wilkinson
JUST when you thought it was safe to turn the telly on again… Harry and Meghan are back. And their multi-year renewal with Netflix means they are not going away anytime soon.
There have been tense negotiations in recent weeks but Netflix is so deeply involved with Meghan’s As Ever brand it was always likely that the streaming giants would want them back.
Make no mistake, Harry and Meghan would have been desperate for the deal to be renewed. They will likely be opening a bottle or two of As Ever Rose in Montecito.
Because they have invested heavily in Archewell Productions and getting on board with Netflix is central not only to their post-Royal endeavours but more importantly crucial to their bank accounts.
If they lost their Netflix money then how could they afford their life in the US?
While the length of the deal or how much the couple are getting paid is vague we do know that Meghan will appear in a ‘holiday special’ in December that will likely clash with the Princess of Wales’s annual Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey.
And finally, two years after I revealed in The Sun the couple had bought the rights to the book Meet Me At The Lake, production is in active development.
Sources close to the couple are coy about whether Harry or Meghan will appear on screen for the production of Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within which will air later this year.
But perhaps the best piece of news from the announcement is no repeat of the six-part documentary which dumped on the Royal Family.
However, ‘Harry & Meghan’ was a ratings dream and none of their projects since have been anywhere as successful. They need to come up with a hit soon.
And this ‘first look’ deal means Netflix has the first option on new projects from the couple without any guaranteed commitment.
But remember the Sussexes are not the only Royals to be in bed with Netflix.
The King will feature in a documentary on The King’s Foundation with Idris Elba.
“Join Meghan in Montecito for a magical holiday celebration,” the announcement read.
“Together, friends and family deck the halls, create holiday feasts, craft heartfelt gifts, and share lots of laughs – with simple how-tos to follow at home. It’s a holiday wonder with warmth, tradition, and a generous dose of joy.”
The couple will also release a short film called “Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within” which will look at Uganda’s Masaka region and the HIV/AIDS crisis there.
She famously shook the hand of a man suffering with the illness without gloves, publicly challenging the idea that HIV/Aids was passed from person to person by touch.
There is also “active development” on other projects with Netflix which “span a variety of content genres”, including a feature adaptation of the bestselling romantic novel by Carley Fortune, Meet Me At The Lake.
Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s Chief Content Officer, said: “Harry and Meghan are influential voices whose stories resonate with audiences everywhere.
“The response to their work speaks for itself — Harry & Meghan gave viewers an intimate look into their lives and quickly became one of our most-watched documentary series.
“More recently, fans have been inspired by With Love, Meghan, with products from the new As Ever line consistently selling out in record time.
“We’re excited to continue our partnership with Archewell Productions and to entertain our members together.”
But it was also understood that bosses were mildly infuriated by Meghan making her As Ever brand a priority.
The With Love, Meghan viewing figures have reportedly been “dismal”.
Lifestyle and cookery show With Love, Meghan only ranked at number 383 in Netflix’s six-monthly engagement report this year, with just 5.3million viewers across the globe.
Described by one critic as an “exercise in narcissism”, it was beaten by reruns of the first four seasons of legal drama Suits, which also starred the Duchess in her pre-royal days.
Once judged by some as Britain’s greatest soft power asset since Princess Diana, Meghan was filmed for her show making ladybird-shaped canapes from cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls.
In truth, the show is a smash hit compared to her husband’s vanity docuseries Polo, blasted as “a dull indulgence about a rich person’s pursuit”.
In the first six months of the year the programme attracted a disastrous 500,000 views globally, ranking it at number 3,442 out of around 7,000 shows.
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The Duchess of Sussex’s show previously featured husband Prince Harry and some celeb pals, including Mindy KalingCredit: Netflix
June 19 (UPI) — Hurricane Erick made landfall in southern Mexico with powerful winds Thursday morning, but has been downgraded to a tropical storm and is expected to dissipate during the overnight hours.
The National Hurricane Center on Thursday afternoon reported Erick had moved over the Mexican state of Guerrero along the country’s Pacific coast, about 35 miles north-northeast of Acapulco.
A tropical storm warning is in effect from Punta Maldonado to Tecpan de Galeana, with sustained winds of around 50 mph and flooding rains.
The storm system is moving northwesterly at about 12 mph, according to the NHC.
“This general motion is expected to continue through tonight,” NHC forecasters said. “The center of Erick is forecast to move over southern and southwestern Mexico until it dissipates tonight.”
Tropical-storm-force winds will extend up to 45 miles outward from the eye of the storm for a few more hours before dissipating.
Erick is expected to drop 6 to 8 more inches of rain across Guerrero and Oaxaca, but totals could reach as high as 16 inches.
The storm could also produce dangerous flooding and mudslides, particularly in steeper areas.
Up to 6 inches of rain may also fall across the states of Colima, Jalisco and Michoacan.
The storm surge is considered likely to produce coastal flooding along portions of southern Mexico, but is expected to gradually subside through the night.
Swells generated by the tropical storm will continue to affect coastal areas along southern Mexico.
“These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” NHC forecasters said.
Erick neared landfall along the western coast of Mexico as a Category 4 hurricane earlier Thursday, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph. It had first become a hurricane on Wednesday morning.
Erick is the fifth named storm in the Pacific this year. No storms have formed in the Atlantic yet.
The Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 to Nov. 30, while the Atlantic season is from June 1 to Nov. 30.
