Forecasters: Tropical depressions could form this week
Among the three active systems in the Atlantic, it’s looking increasingly likely that two will become tropical depressions.
Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday that a tropical depression is likely to form in the western Caribbean Sea from an area of low pressure there. Warm water temperatures and low wind shear will likely support the system’s gradual development as it moves west-northwest over the northwestern Caribbean Sea. It has 60% odds of developing over the next five days.
“As this disturbance moves steadily westward across the Caribbean it is expected to encounter strong wind shear through
Wednesday or Thursday, which will likely inhibit development,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Randy Adkins said.
Thereafter, the system could gain strength as it travels south over the warm Caribbean Sea. There’s a chance it could move near or across Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
Forecasters are also watching two low pressure systems that recently formed off Africa’s west coast.
A system in the central Atlantic has low odds of developing into a tropical depression in the next two days due to the presence of storm-shredding wind shear, but medium odds of developing within the next five days as the winds subside, forecasters said.
Meanwhile, a third system off Africa’s coast is producing thunderstorms
and could develop over the next few days as it travels west to west-northwest. It is expected to move at 10 to 15 mph over the far eastern Atlantic. Experts say upperlevel winds could hinder its
development by the weekend.
The next named storms to form would be Ida, Julian and Kate.
The forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration calls for an above-average season, with seven to 10 Atlantic hurricanes.
Henri was the third hurricane of the season, with Elsa and Grace preceding. Henri made landfall as a tropical storm Sunday in Westerly, Rhode Island.