Although Hurricanes Daniel and Tropical Storm Earl are expected to make their way into the open Atlantic, Earl is expected to become the first major hurricane of the season late in the week. In addition, a third tropical wave appeared off the west coast of Africa.
Tropical Storm Earl, with sustained winds of max 50 mph and located about 125 miles northwest of St. Thomas and the Virgin Islands at 2 a.m. Monday, is moving northwest at 3 mph and is expected to become a northbound hurricane at some point in time. Early this week, forecasters said.
The extreme western edge of Earl’s forecast track for Friday includes Bermuda.
Earl’s gale-force tropical winds spanned up to 105 miles.
Earl is expected to move away from the Caribbean on Mondays and Tuesdays. Hurricane Earl is expected to form on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center, and is expected to become a major hurricane (at least 111 mph) Friday night.
“The Earl is expected to bend sharply and quickly, allowing the storm to pass south and east of the island. Direct impacts are unlikely, but the Earl could generate rough currents and rip currents that could impact the island during the course of the day,” said AccuWeather chief meteorologist Alan Ripert. this week.
As of 2 a.m. Monday, Danielle was approximately 1,000 miles offshore in the North Atlantic and moving northeast at 7 mph.
Forecasters say a low pressure area could form later this week from a tropical wave near Africa, and a gradual development is possible because this system generally moves from west to northwest in the Atlantic Ocean.
Early Monday morning, the National Hurricane Center increased the odds of a tropical wave developing for 48 hours to 10% and the probability of developing over the next five days to 30%.
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Hurricane Daniel’s maximum winds reached 90 mph Sunday night, and some gradual strengthening is expected through Monday.
Its hurricane-force winds extended 25 miles from its center, with tropical storm winds extending 105 miles. As of 5 p.m. Sunday, Danielle was about 980 miles west of the Azores as it drifted over the Atlantic Ocean.
[ STAY UPDATED with the latest forecast for tropical weather at SunSentinel.com/hurricane ]
Danielle and Earl are the first named storms to form in the Atlantic Ocean since early July, when Tropical Storm Colin formed off the Carolina coast. It comes after a quiet August with no identified storms, which has only happened for the third time since 1961.
The 2020 hurricane season set a record with 30 named systems, while the 2021 season was the third most active with 21 named systems. The average year calls for 14 named storms.
The next storm to form will be Fiona.
[ RELATED: Calm before storms? Hurricane season is oddly quiet Atlantic despite forecasts ]
Meteorologists say dry air, desert dust and wind breaks were among the reasons why there were no more storms this year.
[ RELATED: 30 years after Hurricane Andrew: How resilient is South Florida? ]
Hurricane season ends on November 30th.
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