Three waves are headed west in the Atlantic. Two could merge into tropical depression

Alex Harris
·2 min read

As the Atlantic basin inches toward peak hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center is tracking three tropical waves, a tropical storm and a tropical depression.

Tropical Storm Nana, which briefly became the season’s fifth hurricane as it came ashore in Belize, was back down to a tropical storm Thursday afternoon with 40 mph winds, as of the 2 p.m. update. It was almost all the way through northern Guatemala and headed toward the Pacific Ocean at about 14 mph, dumping enough rain on the region that flash flooding was a worry.

“Continued weakening is expected, and Nana is likely to be a remnant low pressure area by the time it reaches the Gulf of Tehuantepec in about 24 h,” forecasters wrote.

All watches and warnings in the region were discontinued Thursday morning.

Tropical Storm Nana could weaken to a depression by Thursday evening.
Tropical Storm Nana could weaken to a depression by Thursday evening.

Tropical Depression Omar is not long for this world. Forecasters, who’ve been tracking this disturbance since it formed off the coast of North Carolina and headed due east, said it’s likely to dissolve Thursday evening.

The hurricane center identified a new tropical wave Thursday morning.

The closest wave is about midway between Africa and the eastern Caribbean. Forecasters said gradual development is possible early next week and gave it a 40% chance of forming into a tropical depression in the next five days as another, larger wave passes to the north of it.

The hurricane center said the second wave, which was near Africa’s west coast, was developing slowly but is expected to merge with another tropical wave. Formation chances for the next five days are high at 70%.

The National Hurricane Center is tracking three tropical waves, one of which has a 70% chance of forming into a tropical depression in the next week.
The National Hurricane Center is tracking three tropical waves, one of which has a 70% chance of forming into a tropical depression in the next week.

“A tropical depression is more likely to form early next week over the central tropical Atlantic where environmental conditions are forecast to be more favorable for development,” they wrote.

The final wave is forecast to move off Africa’s coast over the weekend and could develop a little over the next week. The hurricane center gave it a 20% shot at strengthening in the next five days.

The next storm names are Paulette and Rene.