Sally has been meandering this morning, but the longer-term motion is northwestward or 315/2 kt. Sally remains within an area of weak steering flow, but a weak mid-level trough over the south-central United States is forecast to slide eastward over the next couple of days. This pattern should cause Sally to move very slowly north-northwestward to northward over the next 24 hours, with the center of the hurricane nearing the northern Gulf Coast late tonight or Wednesday. By late Wednesday, Sally should turn northeastward as the aforementioned trough approaches Missouri and Arkansas. The new forecast has been nudged slightly eastward in the early portion of the track forecast, but the latter portion is very close to the previous advisory. The new track lies a little to the west of the various consensus aids in deference to the typically reliable GFS and ECMWF models that are near the left edge of the guidance envelope. Sally's forward motion is forecast to be around 5 kt or less throughout the forecast period, which will result in a long period of heavy rainfall and historic flooding along the north-central Gulf Coast.
Moderate westerly shear and upwelling beneath the slow moving hurricane are likely to prevent strengthening today. The shear is forecast to increase tonight and although some slight weakening could occur before the center reaches the coast, Sally is predicted to remain a dangerous hurricane through landfall. Once Sally moves inland, rapid weakening is expected and circulation is forecast to lose definition and dissipate by day 4.
That's encouraging.
Do we have another 'hurricane that couldn't'?
The wind speed here has increased a bit.