Hurricane Joaquin heads to NE America

'If we get a landfall, we get 15 inches of rain and winds of 80 mph'

The National Hurricane Center reported hurricane Joaquin intensified Thursday afternoon to a Category 4, which means the wind speed ranges between 131 and 155 mph. Joaquin had maximum sustained winds at 130 mph.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - CNN reported hurricane predictions are actually unpredictable. Whether Joaquin creates a landfall, odds are it will be the source of flooding along the East Coast.

As of 5 p.m. ET, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported the storm was in the Bahamas, roughly 70 miles from San Salvador.

Joaquin is expected to head toward Nassau, the country's most populated city, by Friday. By then it could have 140 mph winds.

Ten to 20 inches of rain can fall in the Bahamas through Friday but the real danger lies in the storm surges. Water level can reach as high as 10 feet above normal tides along Bahamian coasts and can create life-threatening rip currents along the southeast coast of the United States.

If hurricane Joaquin continues along the projected path, it can reach North Carolina by Monday and New Jersey by Tuesday. Unfortunately, the projected path has changed off course so many times that no one knows for certain where it will be come Monday.

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said, "One way or the other, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and on up will get between 5 and 10 inches of rain -- even without a direct landfall. If we get a landfall, we get 15 inches of rain and winds of 80 mph."

"[W]ithout even a direct landfall, there will be significant flooding through the Carolinas, through Virginia, and all the way up the East Coast," he added.

The water Joaquin brings can cause even more flooding in already flooded areas such as Portland, Maine.

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