This Saturday is the climatological peak of hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s been a weird year with about seven storms so far, and we still have more than two months until it’s over. The season could have been worse if it weren’t for El Niño conditions out in the Pacific Ocean, which saves the butt of many coastal residents around the Atlantic during this time of the year.
Remember Erika? The mountains of Hispaniola and Cuba tore it to bits, and the National Hurricane Center declared it dead at 9:30 this morning. All that tropical moisture has to go somewhere, though, and Florida could still see several inches of rain from its remnants. Tropical downpours on saturated soil will lead to the potential for dangerous flooding, so it’s not something to take lightly.
Tropical Storm Erika is a mess today, barely holding itself together as it draws closer to Puerto Rico. Despite its ragged appearance, the storm is producing very heavy rain along its path; devastating flooding on the small island of Dominica killed at least four people last night. Erika is still a threat to Florida, and current forecasts show the storm closing in on the Sunshine State as a hurricane early next week.
Social media is buzzing this afternoon over the possibility that Tropical Storm Erika could strengthen into a hurricane and threaten the U.S. East Coast next week. However, the forecast is far from certain, and the storm could either make landfall or fall apart or swerve out to sea. Predicting the future is hard, and Tropical Storm Erika represents one of those frustrating limits of weather forecasting.
Summer weather is characterized by long periods of mind-numbing monotony followed by short bursts of terrifying chaos. We’re in one of those chaotic periods right now, where the August doldrums collapsed and gave us a tiny but powerful hurricane in the Atlantic, and a potential hurricane threatening Hawaii next week.
Tropical Storm Gonzalo formed in the Atlantic Ocean today just east of the Caribbean. The storm is expected to gain strength over the next couple of days as it moves towards Puerto Rico, and Gonzalo could turn into a hurricane before impacting the territory early this week.
The strongest wind and rain in Tropical Storm Bertha is spreading over Puerto Rico this afternoon as the poorly-organized storm moves off towards the northwest. Bertha currently has 50 MPH winds and is expected to slowly strengthen over the next few days as it heads away from the Caribbean.
The National Hurricane Center finally declared the low pressure system approaching the Caribbean as Tropical Storm Bertha. The newly-minted tropical system is the second of the year, and has sustained winds of 45 MPH as it heads towards the Lesser Antilles. It may pose a slight threat to the East Coast next week.
