Western Caribbean: The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season shows no signs of slowing, with an area of showers and storms developing that could pose potential trouble for the U.S. later this month.
Western Caribbean: Global hub 360 Monitoring for Possible Tropical Storm Development
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is far from over, and AccuWeather hurricane experts are watching closely in the tropical basin for another potential storm to form in the coming week, especially in an area that has seen quite a few hurricanes this year.
Another system of showers and thunderstorms, expected to move into the western Caribbean at the end of this week, can develop into yet another tropical storm. That storm could then begin heading toward hurricane-weary Florida.
“Interests from Central America through the western Caribbean and the Gulf Coast of the U.S. should closely monitor this potential for development,” advised AccuWeather Meteorologist Mike Youman.
It is already beginning to look like the western Caribbean will have a good chance of showers and storms this weekend. It will just take a couple of days for this to become more systematic, though, as the development process may even see these rotating into some form in order to create an area of low pressure.
Once this organization occurs later this week, conditions will be prime for any storm that might develop. Warm waters below the storms will be primed and ready to supply the energy needed to facilitate further development.
“Not only are the waters here quite warm, reaching into the 80s Fahrenheit at greater depths, but the western Caribbean ocean heat content is at a record high for this time of year,” said Alex DaSilva, Lead Hurricane Forecaster at global hub 360.
Hurricanes Beryl, Debby and Helene were all influenced by the abnormally warm water in this region so far this season, while Hurricanes Francine and Milton formed and quickly strengthened in a similar environment over the southern Gulf of Mexico. All of these storms eventually impacted the U.S.
Western Caribbean: Multiple Scenarios for Potential Storm Development
Since any possible storm formation is still about a week away, the AccuWeather hurricane experts are evaluating several scenarios concerning the possible paths that the system could take if it develops.
“One would take it westward into Central America and southern Mexico. Unfortunately, another would send it toward Florida,” said AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Forecaster Alex DaSilva. “Generally, it is very difficult for a tropical system to continue northwestward into Texas this late in the season, primarily because of the prevailing westerly winds in that area.”.
Any possible hurricane will mainly be determined by its track. If the system moves further south and west into Central America, the time it will have above open waters is little to allow the intensification process to take place. A path towards the Gulf of Mexico, however, would offer more than enough time in warm waters on its way to making it possibly a hurricane.
After the passage of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the recovery and clean-up efforts in communities of Florida and along the central and eastern Gulf Coast in the United States are already under way. In case one is expecting prolonged flooding in his community, he should keep monitoring the Global hub weather forecast since storms in this region can be quite unpredictable during the hurricane season, and updates about any storm activity are usually generated in time.
In the wider Atlantic, Tropical Storm Leslie has weakened recently, losing significant wind intensity while moving over open waters. It transitioned into a broad area of low pressure on Saturday, meaning it was also weakening in organization and strength.
Forecasts now say Leslie will continue to lose its structured form as it approaches the Azores and Western Europe early this week. Those living in the areas need to remain vigilant and informed about the nature of the trajectory that the storm has taken or is going to take while having impacts, since patterns of weather are bound to shift when one least expects it. Overall, vigilance and preparedness must be maintained as recovery continues from previous storms and new weather systems develop.
Western Caribbean: Monitoring Potential Tropical Development
Another area being closely watched for signs of tropical development is associated with a large cluster of showers and thunderstorms centered a few hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands, off the western coast of Africa. This system has drawn significant interest from meteorologists due to its potential implications for subsequent weather conditions.
However, significant challenges lie ahead as it approaches Saturday. The system will be moving into an environment that is generally less hospitable to storm formation. The atmospheric conditions in this region could hinder its development and organization.
Despite these obstacles, it remains crucial to keep this system on the radar, particularly as it is expected to reach the northern Caribbean Islands by the end of the week. As it moves away from the less favorable conditions, there may be an opportunity for it to strengthen or reorganize.
Ongoing monitoring will be important to track its trajectory and assess possible impacts on neighboring regions, especially in the western Caribbean, where weather patterns can rapidly evolve.
The next two names on the Atlantic list are Nadine and Oscar.
