As of 2:00 p.m. on Monday, satellite-derived wind data indicate that an elongated area of low pressure located a few hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands off the coast of Africa is expected to become a tropical depression. This is based on continued development during the day as the system moves generally northwestward across the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean. There is a 90 percent chance of tropical cyclone formation within the next five days.
And right on its tail is another tropical wave that has emerged over the far eastern tropical Atlantic between Africa and the Cabo Verde Islands. Environmental conditions are conducive to the formation of a tropical wave later in the week, with a chance of development being 0 to 40 percent through the next five days.
Moving over to the south-central Gulf of Mexico the hurricane center began investigating some disorganized showers and thunderstorms on Saturday associated with a broad area of low pressure. Environmental conditions appear conducive for additional development, and a tropical depression is likely to form during the next two or three days while the low moves slowly westward or west-southwestward toward the coast of Mexico. Right now, the NHC gives this tropical depression a 60 to 70 percent chance of further development over the next several days.
On Sunday, a trough of low pressure began developing several hundred miles south-southeast of Bermuda. The system is producing persistent shower and thunderstorm activity but does not have a well-defined surface center. This system is moving northward or north-northwestward. Chances of tropical system formation are placed at 30 percent in the next 48 hours and 50 percent over the next five days.
In 2004, Florida saw four hurricanes strike between August and September – when hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne hit the state – one after the other. Keep in mind that the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is between mid-August through late October.
