A tropical depression will likely form in the Atlantic next week, the National Hurricane Center says.
Right now, the weather pattern is just a “tropical wave,” and it’s south of the Cabo Verde Islands — about 4,000 miles from the East Coast of the U.S.
According to the NHC’s 2 p.m. Saturday update, the tropical wave — designated as Invest Area 92L — is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms. The organization’s tropical weather outlook gives it a 50 percent chance to develop over the next 48 hours and 70 percent over the next seven days as it continues to move west over the Atlantic Ocean.
“A tropical depression is likely to form by the early to middle portion of next week while the system moves westward at 15 to 20 mph across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic,” the update says.
Could it become Tropical Storm Bret?
If it becomes a named storm, it would be an unusual event.
A tropical storm gets a name when its sustained winds reach 39 mph; it becomes a hurricane when its winds reach 74 mph.
On Friday, respected hurricane forecaster Phil Klotzbach of Colorado State University tweeted that only three named storms have formed in the tropical Atlantic (south of 23.5°N, east of 60°W) in June on record: Trinidad (1933), Ana (1979), Bret (2017).
Coincidentally, if this system gets a name, it would likely be Bret as well.
What is a tropical wave?
A tropical wave, also known as an easterly wave, is an elongated area of relatively low pressure that moves from east to west across the tropics. To the west of the system, there is often good weather. To the east, though, cloudiness and heavy rain are often found.
Tropical waves can lead to the formation of a tropical cyclone, according to NOAA. This includes tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes.
Contributing: Hannah Leyva, Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY
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