How close will Jose approach East Coast?

AccuWeather reports Jose will track between Bermuda and the east coast of the United States into next week, generating dangerous seas in the process.

Jose is currently a tropical storm located about 400 miles east-northeast of the Bahamas. The strong winds around the storm have triggered high seas in the western Atlantic for the past week.

“We expect Jose to fluctuate between a minimal hurricane and tropical storm over the next several days,” according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski.

The storm will pass between Bermuda, the Bahamas and the southern Atlantic Seaboard as it tracks to the west, northwest and then north into next week.

“Even though Jose will not come close to any landmass through at leastMonday, it will generate large swells that will propagate away from the hurricane,” Kottlowski said.

Swells will start to ease across the north- and east-facing beaches of Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos islands and the Bahamas as Jose moves farther away this weekend.

Rough surf will persist from Florida to Massachusetts into next week. Nova Scotia could face building seas early next week.

“The strength and frequency of rip currents will increase at a time when many lifeguards are no longer on duty and people may head to the beach to take advantage of building warmth,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.

Given the duration of rough surf, extensive beach erosion can occur along the East Coast.

There are several paths Jose can take next week once it passes between the Carolinas and Bermuda.

Jose could be swept completely out to sea by a non-tropical system, passing between Bermuda, the Northeast coast and Atlantic Canada. In this scenario, the storm would mainly be a hazard to cruise and shipping interests in the North Atlantic. Rough surf and beach erosion would remain a problem for coastal areas.

Another path would take Jose farther to the west, bringing clouds, rain and gusty winds to part of the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts and eventually Atlantic Canada. This would occur if Jose fails to get swept up as quickly by the non-tropical system.

The storm could even stall off the Northeast coast for a time next week.

“A persistent onshore flow in some locations may lead to coastal flooding at times of high tide for many days even if Jose remains a few hundred miles offshore,” Sosnowski said.

All interests in these areas should continue to monitor the progress of Jose through the weekend.

Elsewhere, two areas of disturbed weather are being monitored for possible development in the eastern Atlantic. One or both of these clusters of showers and thunderstorms may organize into a tropical depression or storm while being guided westward into next week.

The next names for tropical storms in the Atlantic Basin are Lee and Maria.

By Renee Duff, Meteorologist, and Alex Sosnowski, Senior Meteorologist, for AccuWeather.com