Hurricane Paloma is ...

• .... About to hit the south coast of Cuba with possibly a 20 foot storm surge.
• .... Tied for the second strongest hurricane evah in the Atlantic in November.
• .... Currently a Category Three FOUR! storm.

.... Going to fall apart totally after it moves into the Atlantic, having had its way with Cuba

Here's the current advisory, in all caps, like they do it at the HPC:

...OUTER RAIN BANDS OF EXTREMELY DANGEROUS PALOMA AFFECTING CUBA...

A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE CUBAN PROVINCES OF CIEGO DE AVILA...CAMAGUEY...LAS TUNAS...GRANMA AND HOLGUIN. PREPARATIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD BE RUSHED TO COMPLETION.

A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE CAYMAN ISLANDS. THIS WARNING WILL LIKELY BE DISCONTINUED LATER THIS AFTERNOON.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE CUBAN PROVINCE OF SANTIAGO DE CUBA.

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS... INCLUDING CAT ISLAND...THE EXUMAS...LONG ISLAND...RUM CAY...SAN SALVADOR...CROOKED ISLAND...ACKLINS ISLAND AND RAGGED ISLAND. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS.

INTERESTS ELSEWHERE IN CUBA AND THE BAHAMAS SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF PALOMA.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.

AT 100 PM EST...1800Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE PALOMA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 20.2 NORTH... LONGITUDE 78.8 WEST OR ABOUT 65 MILES...100 KM...SOUTHWEST OF SANTA CRUZ DEL SUR AND ABOUT 105
MILES...165 KM...SOUTHWEST OF CAMAGUEY CUBA.

PALOMA IS MOVING TOWARD THE EAST-NORTHEAST NEAR 9 MPH...15 KM/HR... AND THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED THROUGH SUNDAY WITH SOME DECREASE IN FORWARD SPEED AFTER LANDFALL. ON THE FORECAST TRACK... THE CENTER OF PALOMA IS EXPECTED TO BE APPROACHING THE COAST OF SOUTH-CENTRAL CUBA TONIGHT AND EMERGE INTO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN LATE SUNDAY.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 140 MPH...220 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. PALOMA IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME SLOW WEAKENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS...BUT PALOMA IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN A MAJOR HURRICANE UP UNTIL LANDFALL IN CUBA.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 25 MILES...35 KM...FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 115 MILES...185 KM.

THE LATEST MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE ESTIMATED FROM AIR FORCE RESERVE AND NOAA HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT DATA IS 950 MB...28.05 INCHES.

LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 17 TO 23 FEET...ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES...IS EXPECTED NEAR AND TO THE EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER OF PALOMA MAKES LANDFALL ALONG THE SOUTH COAST OF CUBA. STORM SURGE FLOODING IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS WILL GRADUALLY SUBSIDE TODAY.

PALOMA IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES OVER LITTLE CAYMAN...CAYMAN BRAC...AND CENTRAL AND EASTERN CUBA...WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM TOTALS OF 20 INCHES POSSIBLE. THESE RAINS MAY PRODUCE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES. RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS JAMAICA AND ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS GRAND CAYMAN.

REPEATING THE 100 PM EST POSITION...20.2 N...78.8 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...EAST-NORTHEAST NEAR 9 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...140 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...950 MB.

THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 400 PM EST.

$$
FORECASTER BLAKE