Even for the busiest predicted hurricane season on record, the Atlantic basin is packed this week.
None of the four tropical waves poses a threat to the continental U.S., but two of them have a pretty good chance of becoming the next tropical depressions this season. The other two are worth keeping an eye on as they make their way west from Africa’s coast.
One tropical wave, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 8 a.m. update, is a few hundred miles south of the Dominican Republic in the central Caribbean Sea. The hurricane center pegs its chances at strengthening into a tropical depression in the next few days at 70 percent. Forecasters warned that “Jamaica, Honduras, Belize, Guatemala and the Yucatan peninsula should monitor the progress of this disturbance.”
The second wave is about 150 miles south-southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina. It has about a 70 percent chance of forming in the next two to five days and is expected to track offshore, along the northeast coast.
The next two waves are either just off the western coast of Africa or have yet to emerge. The one in the eastern Atlantic is already petering out, and forecasters said “further development of this system is not expected.”
The final wave has yet to form, but the hurricane center said it could find a favorable climate when it enters the Atlantic in a couple of days. They give it a 30 percent chance of forming in the next five days.
The next two storm names are Nana and Omar.
Source: Miami Herald