Tropical Activity

It seems like the tropical activity at the moment is increasing a bit. In the Atlantic we have Tropical Storm Bertha creating high waves along the US east coast and the shores of Bermuda. I don't think she will cause any significant damage except two people have already drowned off the NJ shore due to the rip currents. Bertha is slowly drifting north by northwest with Bermuda in her path - what little of a path she has. rain and flooding are likely to be the key issues here with high waves adding to the situation.

There is also another tropical wave developing in the Atlantic heading for the Lesser Antilles. The graphical outlook at the top of the page is showing a greater than 50% chance of development with this system as of Monday afternoon. This system has been becoming more organized as the week has gone by and it is likely to become a tropical storm in the next couple of days or so.

AccuWeather is pointing out that this new system will have a more southerly track and will probably pass through the Caribbean and possibly into the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf Coast region needs to watch this storm for tracking information and further development. Last night the probablility of tropical depression formation was high. This morning that probability has dropped some but I do not think this storm is decreasing in intensity. I expect that we will see some fluctuation in intensity until it finally forms into a tropical depression and eventually into a named storm in the next few days.

Also in the eastern Pacific we have had quite a few developments. One storm I completely missed while Hurricane Elida has been churning steadily for the past few days. There is also another tropical wave with a moderate chance for development off the Central American coast. Since all of tehse storms have been moving out to west/northwest away from land, I have not been too concerned about them but any maritime interests need to keep a weather eye out.