TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — It’s been an active week in the tropics with a total of four named storms popping up across the Atlantic. But as we near the peak of hurricane season, can we expect this trend to continue?
The National Hurricane Center has been keeping tabs on four separate storm systems — The closest of which to the U.S. mainland is Tropical Storm Franklin.
TS Franklin
Franklin is expected to dump heavy rains across portions of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola Wednesday into Thursday as it pushes north toward Bermuda. The NHC says the heavy rainfall will bring the threat of flash floods and mudslides to the area.
However, little change in strength is forecast during the next couple of days as Franklin moves across Hispaniola. Some strengthening is possible Thursday into Friday as Franklin moves northeast over Atlantic waters.
Former Tropical Storm Emily
The remnants of former Tropical Storm Emily were last located several hundred miles northeast of the Leeward Islands.
Some development is possible by the weekend, although unfavorable conditions will likely prevent any development in the next day or so. The NHC says the system should move north of the Gulf Stream on Sunday where further development is not expected.
Tropical Disturbance
Lastly, an area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms continues to swirl a few hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands.
The NHC says environmental conditions appear “only marginally conducive” for any development, but forecasters do not rule out this system forming into a tropical depression later this week or over the weekend. The tropical wave is forecast to move northwestward across the eastern and central Atlantic over the next seven days.
“One of the most interesting things so far this year is how quiet it has been up until recently. May, June, July, now August — that sun has been baking the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic,” WJBF Chief Meteorologist Tim Miller said. “You’re talking about water that… has the juice to move quickly and develop quickly.”
