One of the two weather systems over the Atlantic Ocean, which has an 80% probability of developing during the next five days, might develop into the next big tropical storm or hurricane of the season.
Although it may be difficult to anticipate tropical depressions at this early stage, models have shown that one of the systems, if it were to acquire strength, might go toward Bermuda and then perhaps the US East Coast.
The Atlantic hasn’t had a storm in the whole month of August, making it one of the calmest stretches in recorded history during a month that often produces the most storms and hurricanes.
The Sahara Desert in Africa is one cause of the scarcity of storms, since dust from the desert is carried over the Atlantic ocean and causes drier air, which makes it more difficult for storms to develop.
The Saharan Air Layer, a layer of dust that is roughly two miles thick and rests one mile above the surface of the Earth, is famed for producing breathtaking sunsets and sunrises as a result of light reflecting off the dust particles.
A weather system that formed over the Atlantic Ocean has an 80% chance of turning into a tropical storm by Friday
Much of the severe weather this season has been quelled by dust from the Sahara desert, which dries the air and makes it harder for storms to form
While it is still far from the US mainland, the second system is now moving off the coast of Africa and has the potential to develop into a hurricane.
The Lesser Antilles, a series of islands in the Caribbean Sea, were claimed to be the location of the first and closest weather system.
According to the NHC’s tropical forecast for 8 a.m., the system has been causing scattered showers and thunderstorms throughout a sizable region.
Daniel Brown, a senior hurricane expert, said that while the atmosphere is only marginally favorable, some sluggish development of this system is anticipated over the following several days, and a tropical depression is likely to emerge later this week.
The second system, which is considerably younger and is now rolling off the shores of Senegal and the Gambia, might become stronger as it moves over the Atlantic.
The following tropical storm systems are expected to be called Danielle, Earl, Fiona, and Gaston in accordance with the custom of naming storms and hurricanes alphabetically.
The Atlantic hasn’t had a storm in the whole month of August, making it one of the calmest stretches in recorded history during a month that often produces the most storms and hurricanes.
Dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa is swept across the Atlantic Ocean, drying the air and making it harder for storms to form
In August 2021, Hurricane Henri hit New England. Storm remnants at Milford, Connecticut, on August 23, 2021 are shown.
One meteorologist noted that this time last year, we should have had eight named storms, but we’ve only had three this year. For the first time since 1997, if August does conclude without a named storm, it will be.
At this time last year, the U.S. had just experienced Hurricane Henri, which reached New England on August 22, flooding vast stretches of the coast, and Tropical Storm Fred, which struck Florida on August 16 and produced 31 tornadoes from Georgia to Massachusetts.
A named storm has not formed in the Atlantic between July 3 and the first week of August for the first time since 1982, according to Colorado State University hurricane expert Philip Klotzbach.
Since 1950, the phenomenon has occurred five additional times, making the extended period of silence before peak season a about once-every-ten-year occurrence.
However, compared to the average of seven, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration anticipates six to ten Atlantic storms, and they might strike swiftly in September when the ocean is at its hottest.
‘You don’t want people to let their guard down,’ said Accuweather senior meteorologist Dan Pydynowski. ‘Just because we haven’t had any storms yet doesn’t mean we won’t.
‘And it’s not necessarily the number of storms that counts. ‘It’s: does the storm hit the U.S., and if it does, what is the intensity when it does so?’