More Tropical Activity Coming to Life in the Atlantic Basin

Just because Helene is finally fizzling out, it does not mean that the tropics are cooling down. Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) are busy watching a few other areas of development in the Atlantic Ocean as the tropical weather season shows no signs of letting up. Here is a look at the latest developments in the Atlantic basin.

More Tropical Weather Potentially Bearing Down on the U.S.

The same area of the Atlantic Ocean that birthed what was once Hurricane Helene is now predicted to potentially spawn the latest tropical weather system as the calendar flips from September to October. This feature would join Hurricane Isaac and Tropical Storm Joyce currently churning in the open waters of the Atlantic.

The Central American gyre is undergoing a period of high activity lately. This action has put forecasters on high alert for the good chance of more tropical development in the coming days. The air currently within the tropical gyre is rotating in a counterclockwise direction and rising. This rising air tends to create clouds that lead to large areas of rain showers and thunderstorms, laying the groundwork for organized tropical weather systems to form.

The latest forecast models indicate that there is a medium chance for a new tropical system to come to life in the Bay of Campeche over the first few days of October. Any feature that comes together in this part of the Atlantic is expected to travel to the west toward Mexico by the middle of the week.

In addition to this feature, another high risk of tropical development is showing signals of intensification of the southwestern Caribbean. This zone of potential development is situated to the south of Cuba and to the west of the island of Jamaica. Should this development come to fruition, it would likely happen sometime between Tuesday and Saturday.