A weather system moving into the Atlantic Ocean could become the next tropical depression or storm of the season, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). In its 2 p.m. outlook on Sunday, the NHC said a tropical wave is expected to emerge off Africa’s west coast by Monday.
“Environmental conditions are conducive for slow development of this system while it moves westward to west-northwestward at around 15mph across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic this week,” forecasters said.
The NHC estimates there is a 30% chance that the system will develop over the next seven days. If it does form, it would be named Tropical Storm Gabrielle and become the seventh tropical cyclone of the current season.
The last named storm, Tropical Storm Fernand, became post-tropical early Thursday in the north Atlantic. Of this year’s six named storms so far, only one reached hurricane strength. Hurricane Erin briefly intensified to Category 5 with winds reaching 160 mph but did not make landfall. The storm caused warnings in both the Caribbean and along the U.S. Atlantic coast earlier in August.
Earlier this month, NOAA updated its forecast for this year’s hurricane season, predicting between 13 and 18 named storms. Out of these, five to nine are expected to become hurricanes, with two to five potentially strengthening into major hurricanes rated Category 3 or higher.
Hurricane season typically peaks from mid-August through October and officially runs from June 1 through November 30 each year.
