Tropical Storm Daniel hit Thursday after the Atlantic hurricane season got off to an unusually quiet start.
At 11:00 PM Eastern time, the storm was about 925 miles west of the Azores in the North Atlantic and was slowly drifting east at 2 miles per hour. According to the National Hurricane Center. The storm had a maximum sustained wind of nearly 65 miles per hour, but did not pose an immediate threat to landing.
The storm intensified rapidly through the evening.Friday was expected to be the first hurricane of the season, Hurricane Center Said on thursday night.
Forecasters also observed two other disturbances in the Atlantic. One is a few hundred miles east of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean, and the other is near the Cape Verde Islands off the west coast of Africa.
Meteorologists expect the Caribbean system to strengthen into a tropical depression over the next five days, with maximum sustained wind speeds below 38 mph. Tropical storm winds between 39 and 73 mph, hurricanes at least 74 mph
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Daniel’s formation was followed by only three other named storms after the relatively quiet beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season. Formed in early June, Alex caused flooding in South Florida, killing at least three of her people in Cuba. Bonnie he crossed Central America as a tropical storm in early July, briefly becoming the first major hurricane of the Pacific hurricane season. Collin, the recently named storm, formed over the weekend of July 4th and drenched the Carolinas.
For the first time since 1997, there were no named storms in the Atlantic in August. After Daniel, the next tropical storm will be named Earl and Fiona.
In early August, NOAA scientists released updated forecasts for the remainder of the Atlantic hurricane season. In it, they predicted that the season running through November 30 would see 14 to 20 named storms, of which 6 to 10 could transform into hurricanes sustaining winds of 74 mph or more. did. Three to five of them could intensify into what NOAA calls major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher), with winds of at least 111 mph.
Last year saw 21 named storms, following a record 30 in 2020. Over the past two years, meteorologists have exhausted the list of names used to identify storms during the Atlantic hurricane season. ,Year 2005.
AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said this week that hurricanes and tropical storms require three things: warm water, vertical wind shear, and a moist and unstable atmosphere.
The atmosphere has been dry so far this year, which has contributed to the slowing season, but Kotrowski warns that there is still plenty of time for bad weather to form.
“The last seven years have had a very favorable pattern, but this year it hasn’t,” said Kottlowski, who is also the chief hurricane forecaster. “The likelihood of a strong hurricane in late September/October is still very high.”
The link between hurricanes and climate change has become clearer with each passing year. Data show that hurricanes have gotten stronger around the world over the last 40 years. On a warming planet, hurricanes are expected to intensify over time, increasing the incidence of the most powerful storms, although the total number of storms is likely to decrease.
Hurricanes are also more humid due to more water vapor in the warmer atmosphere. Scientists suggest that storms like 2017’s Hurricane Harvey brought far more rain than would have been possible without human influence on the climate. Rising sea levels also contribute to an increase in storm surges, the most destructive component of tropical cyclones.
Maria Torres, spokeswoman for the National Hurricane Center, said while there have been few major storms so far this year, residents should not let their guard down.
“Be careful because things can change, and the season isn’t over yet,” she said this week. She added that Arashi is enough to make up one season. “There are months left until hurricane season.”
Jenny Gross, Christine Hauser, McKenna Oxenden, Chris Stanford, Derrick Bryson Taylor When Johnny Diaz contributed to the report.