Hurricane Earl becomes Atlantic’s 2nd hurricane of the season
Tropical Storm Earl quickly strengthened into a hurricane Tuesday evening, becoming the second hurricane in an otherwise quiet season so far, according to the National Hurricane Center.
In its 5 a.m. update on Wednesday, the NHC said maximum sustained winds for Hurricane Earl have increased to about 80 miles per hour and it is expected to become a major hurricane, with winds stronger than 125 mph, by the end of this week. At the present time, Earl has hurricane-force winds capable of reaching 40 miles from its center, and tropical-storm-force winds reaching 125 miles from its center.
The storm is located about 490 miles south of Bermuda, moving northward at about 6 mph, and is on track to pass to the southeast of Bermuda by Friday morning.
The Bermuda Weather Service has issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the island.
Forecast models call for Earl to curve away from the U.S., and the storm is not expected to be a threat to Florida.
The NHC is also still monitoring three other targets in the tropics including Hurricane Danielle, which lost some power Saturday and reverted to a tropical storm. The system became a hurricane again Saturday night. It has maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and is 690 miles away from The Azores and inching west-northwest at 14 mph. Danielle has a reach of 35 miles from its center with hurricane-force winds and tropical-storm-force winds reaching up to 175 miles from the center. Danielle is expected to lose its hurricane status by Thursday.
Danielle became the season’s first hurricane on Friday, more than three weeks later than the statistical average of Aug. 11, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It’s the latest an Atlantic season hurricane has formed since 2013 when Hurricane Humberto formed on Sept. 11.
Danielle is not expected to be a land threat.
Additionally, the NHC is keeping its eyes on an area of low pressure several hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands, and gradual development is possible as this system moves generally west-northwestward in the Atlantic at 15 to 20 mph. A tropical depression could form in the next couple of days as the Atlantic environment remains ideal for storm development. Although, later this week, upper-level winds are expected to become less conducive.
As of Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center had given it a 50% chance of developing over the next two days and a 60% chance in the next five days.
Lastly, a tropical wave over west Africa is expected to emerge over the water in the next day or two. Atlantic conditions appear ripe for its maturity into a storm, which has a 20% chance of doing so in the next five days.
While the tropics have been busy lately, the Atlantic has been relatively quiet compared to the NOAA’s preseason prediction of an above-average season in tropical activity. The NOAA called for 14 to 21 named tropical storms. An average season experiences 14. As of now, the season has been slow, according to NOAA data, which shows that the seventh storm of the year typically emerges by or before Sept. 3 and the third hurricane of the year is noted by or before Sept. 7.
The hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, with the traditional peak of hurricane season running from mid-August to mid-October.
