NHC tracking tropical wave moving slowly west. Rest of tropical Atlantic 'very quiet'
The National Hurricane Center is continuing to monitor the first tropical wave of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, which is now moving even slower than it did Wednesday.
The wave moved off the western coast of Africa earlier this week.
No tropical cyclones are expected over the next seven days.
The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season doesn't officially begin until June 1, but the National Hurricane Center began issuing daily tropical weather outlooks May 15.
The 2023 season got off to an early start with the formation of a subtropical storm in mid January. The short-lived storm did not affect land.
Florida may not catch a break: AccuWeather issues 2023 hurricane season forecast, predicting 11-15 named storms
WMO officially retires Ian name: There will never be another hurricane named Ian
The first name of the season will be Arlene.
Here's the latest update from the NHC as of 8 a.m. May 18.
What's out there and where are they?
Atlantic: A tropical wave is centered south of Cabo Verde and west of Sierra Leone. It's moving west at 5 mph, and that movement is expected to continue over the next couple of days.
The rest of the tropical Atlantic is "very quiet," the National Hurricane Center said.
The forecast calls for a system of low pressure to develop off the southeastern coast of the U.S. late today. The system is expected to move toward Cape Hatteras by late Friday, with strong winds and rough seas.
A strong high-pressure system could bring increasing winds and seas up to 8 feet Friday in northern Atlantic waters off the U.S.
Gulf of Mexico: A weak high-pressure system is located in the southwest Gulf of Mexico, bringing light winds and seas of 1 to 3 feet to the area. Gentle to moderate north winds are reported within 60 nautical miles off the Yucatan Peninsula.
The forecast calls for a weak high-pressure system to dominate the weather pattern across the Gulf through the weekend, bringing light to gentle winds and slight seas. Winds and seas could be higher near showers andthunderstorms.
Gentle to moderate northeast and east winds are forecast at night near and northwest of the Yucatan Peninsula through tonight, increasing to moderate to fresh speeds from Friday night through Sunday night.
Caribbean Sea: Seas are 2 to 4 feet across most of the basin, increasing to 5 feet in the south-central Caribbean.
The forecast calls for moderate seas over the east and central Caribbean while light to gentle winds and slight seas will prevail in the northwestern Caribbean through today. Winds will increase to moderate to fresh speeds across the south-central Caribbean, including the Gulf of Venezuela tonight through Saturday night.
Who is likely to be impacted?
No tropical impacts are expected over the next seven days.
Forecasters urge all residents to continue monitoring the tropics and to always be prepared.
Florida disaster preparedness sales tax holidays
Sales tax holiday: Disaster preparedness sales tax holiday has a surprise this year: A second 14-day period
There will be two 14-day disaster preparedness sales tax holidays in Florida in 2023: May 27 through June 9 and then again from Aug. 26 through Sept. 8, according to Bethany Wester, communications director with the Florida Department of Revenue.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has to sign the bill for it to go into effect.
What is the NHC tropical weather outlook?
The tropical weather outlook "describes significant areas of disturbed weather and their potential for tropical cyclone formation during the next seven days," according to the National Hurricane Center.
The change to a seven-day forecast is one of the new changes in 2023.
NHC changes for 2023: National Hurricane Center changes in 2023 include forecast extending out 7 days
The outlook will be issued at 2 a.m., 8 a.m., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. eastern time until the switch to standard time in November. Then the outlook will be issued at 1 a.m., 7 p.m., 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
A special tropical outlook will be issued in between those times if conditions warrant.
Weather watches and warnings issued for your area
If you can't see any local weather warnings here, you'll need to open this story in a web browser.
When is the Atlantic hurricane season?
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.
When is the peak of hurricane season?
The peak of the season is Sept. 10, with the most activity happening between mid-August and mid-October, according to the Hurricane Center.
Tropical forecast over the next seven days
Excessive rainfall forecast
What's out there?
Systems currently being monitored by the National Hurricane Center.
What's next?
We will continue to update our tropical weather coverage daily. Download your local site's app to ensure you're always connected to the news. And look at our special subscription offers here.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Tropics watch: NHC tracking tropical wave moving slowly west
