Just 48 hours behind Intense Hurricane Earl, category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, Tropical Storm Fiona is about to hit the same islands Earl hit on Tuesday (NZT).

Earl, with sustained winds of 215km/h and gusts much higher, is now moving towards the eastern United States.  The storm is likely to cause coastal damage and may create problems as far north as New York and into eastern Canada.

Fiona, while much smaller, is still a tropical storm with sustained winds of 65km/h and she is strengthening slowly.  Fiona is expected to hit the same Leeward Islands group in the next 24 to 48 hours.

While tropical storms do sometimes form quite quickly in the wake of a previous storm it is very rare for a tropical storm to hit the same place within 48 hours.

– WeatherWatch.co.nz