WunderBlog Archive » Category 6™
Category 6 has moved! See the latest from Dr. Jeff Masters and Bob Henson here.The tropics are quiet today
A tropical wave near 13N 52W, about 600 miles east of the Lesser Antilles Islands, has minimal thunderstorm activity today, and is not expected to develop. Strong upper-level winds of 20-30 knots are creating too much wind shear.
The well-defined circulation visible on satellite imagery over the southeast Gulf of Mexico is a cold-cored upper level low pressure system. Wind shear is high, and no development is expected as it moves slowly southwest.
An area of disturbed weather over the Bahama Islands is associated with a tropical wave, and is interacting with the upper level low in the Gulf and a second upper level low north of the Bahamas. No significant development of this area is expected before it moves ashore into Florida on Wednesday. Portions of Florida should get some heavy rains from this system.
Figure 1. Latest satellite image of the tropical wave approaching the Lesser Antilles Islands.
Figure 2. Model forecast tracks for the tropical wave approaching the Lesser Antilles Islands.
The rest of the tropics are quiet. Wind shear is forecast to remain high over most of the tropics through Thursday, and none of the four major global computer models are hinting at tropical storm development in the Atlantic. By Friday, wind shear is expected to decrease sharply over the Gulf of Mexico, so we'll have to keep an eye on that region this weekend.
Jeff Masters
The well-defined circulation visible on satellite imagery over the southeast Gulf of Mexico is a cold-cored upper level low pressure system. Wind shear is high, and no development is expected as it moves slowly southwest.
An area of disturbed weather over the Bahama Islands is associated with a tropical wave, and is interacting with the upper level low in the Gulf and a second upper level low north of the Bahamas. No significant development of this area is expected before it moves ashore into Florida on Wednesday. Portions of Florida should get some heavy rains from this system.
Figure 1. Latest satellite image of the tropical wave approaching the Lesser Antilles Islands.
Figure 2. Model forecast tracks for the tropical wave approaching the Lesser Antilles Islands.
The rest of the tropics are quiet. Wind shear is forecast to remain high over most of the tropics through Thursday, and none of the four major global computer models are hinting at tropical storm development in the Atlantic. By Friday, wind shear is expected to decrease sharply over the Gulf of Mexico, so we'll have to keep an eye on that region this weekend.
Jeff Masters
The views of the author are his/her own and do not necessarily represent the position of The Weather Company or its parent, IBM.