Storm tracker: National Hurricane Center tracking 2 tropical disturbances in Atlantic
The National Hurricane Center is tracking two tropical disturbances in the Atlantic Ocean, the agency said in an advisory Friday morning.
The first disturbance could gradually develop into a tropical depression over the next few days as it moves westward, the NHC said. The system is expected to reach the Lesser Antilles on Monday and continue across the Caribbean Sea through the middle to later part of the week.
The NHC gives this disturbance a 40% chance of formation through the next seven days.
The second disturbance is currently in the Eastern Tropical Atlantic, between the west coast of Africa and the Cabo Verde Islands, according to the NHC.
"Some slow development of this system is possible through late next week while it moves slowly to the west-northwest over the eastern and central tropical Atlantic," the NHC said in its advisory.
Tropical storm tracker: Gilma expected to dissipate this weekend
Atlantic storm tracker
Busy September for Atlantic hurricane season activity?
Meteorologists say activity in the Atlantic will continue to ramp up as we enter September. The dry, dusty air from Africa that prevents storms from developing in the Atlantic is forecast to wane, AccuWeather hurricane expert Alex DaSilva told Paste BN Wednesday.
"The dust will go away, and allow for the Atlantic to wake up," he said.
He added that water temperatures in many parts of the ocean are plenty warm for storms to develop and thrive.
Closer to home, DaSilva said water temperatures in Gulf of Mexico are at record levels. "If anything develops in the Gulf, it could take off very quickly. People have to pay attention: Storms can rapidly evolve and intensify rapidly."
Computer models also show more activity in the Atlantic in September: "Long-range models are becoming increasingly confident that the deep Atlantic tropics will soon spawn a system worth tracking, and there’s plenty of reason to believe that a busy September and/or October lie ahead," meteorologists Jeff Masters and Bob Henson wrote on their blog Yale Climate Connections.
So far this year, there have been more storms in the Pacific than the Atlantic, and that's a bit of a surprise, forecasters say. In addition, it's been eerily calm in the Atlantic over the past week or so as we approach what's traditionally the busiest time of the season.
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at Paste BN. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.