FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Though Hurricane Danielle and Tropical Storm Earl are forecast to meander in the open Atlantic, Earl is expected to become the season’s first major hurricane late in the week. Additionally, a third tropical wave has emerged off the west coast of Africa.
Tropical Storm Earl has maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and is expected to become a hurricane by Wednesday, according to the 5 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
Tropical Storm Earl is located about 265 miles north of St. Thomas and the Virgin Islands, and picked up speed as it moves to the north at 6 mph, forecasters said. Earl’s tropical-storm-force winds extended out up to 105 miles.
By Friday, it is forecasted to be a major hurricane with winds over 110 mph. The storm is expected to continue moving northward, before taking a turn to the northeast, curving away from the United States, in the next few days.
It is not expected to be a threat for Florida.
Earl’s center is expected to pass to the southeast of Bermuda.
As of 5 p.m. Monday, Danielle had started to weaken as it heads over the northern Atlantic Ocean and forecasters now expect it to continue to do so over the next few days.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds are around 85 mph as of the latest advisory, with its hurricane-force winds extending 25 miles from its center and tropical-storm-force winds extending 140 miles.
Danielle is moving towards the northeast at 9 mph, as of 5 p.m. Monday. The storm is expected to continue towards the northeast over the next few days.
Forecasters say an area of low pressure could form later this week from a tropical wave near Africa, and gradual development is possible as this system moves generally west-northwestward in the Atlantic.
As of Monday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center had increased the tropical wave’s chances of 48-hour development to 20% and its probability of development over the next five days to 50%.
Danielle and Earl are the first named storms to form in the Atlantic since early July, when Tropical Storm Colin formed offshore of the Carolinas. This comes after a quiet August with no named storms, something that happened for only the third time since 1961.
The 2020 hurricane season set a record with 30 named systems, while 2021′s season was the third most active with 21 named systems. An average year calls for 14 named storms.
The next named storm to form will be Fiona.
Forecasters say dry air, Saharan dust and wind shear have been among the reasons there haven’t been more storms this year.
Hurricane season ends Nov. 30.
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