Hurricane center begins tracking Atlantic system with chance to develop
The tropics have been quiet for the last two weeks, but the National Hurricane Center began Friday tracking an Atlantic system with a chance to become the season’s next tropical depression or storm.
As of the NHC’s 2 p.m. tropical outlook, the area of disturbed weather was located in the central tropical Atlantic and expected to interact with an approaching tropical wave in the next few days.
“Some development of this system will be possible while it approaches the Lesser Antilles during the early to middle part of next week and moves generally west-northwestward near the Greater Antilles toward the latter part of the week,” forecasters said.
The NHC gives it a 20% chance to develop in the next seven days.
The last two weeks have had heavy presence of Saharan dust spreading west from the African coast, a phenomenon that limits tropical development despite warmer than normal ocean temperatures.
The season, though, has seen three named Atlantic systems including Hurricane Beryl that tore through the Caribbean, Mexico and Texas in early July.
The next system to develop into a named storm would take on the name Tropical Storm Debby.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast an above average year in the Atlantic with 17 to 25 named storms, of which eight to 13 are expected to become hurricanes, and four to seven of those be major hurricanes.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1-Nov. 30.
