TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Latest Tropical Depression Could Form In Atlantic Today

ADVERTISEMENT

By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 14, 2008

TAMPA - A strong tropical wave moving through the southern Atlantic Ocean could become the season's next tropical depression today or Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Bertha will swipe Bermuda with winds of 40 to 50 mph as what was the season's first hurricane begins a wandering uncertain path.

The island will feel the effects of Bertha into Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said.

The tropical wave is about 1,200 miles east of the Lesser Antilles, which marks the eastern edge of the Caribbean Sea.

Forecasters at the hurricane center started watching the tropical wave during the weekend and say it continues to become better organized, with thunderstorm activity increasing through this morning.

It also is moving into a part of the ocean where conditions are favorable for development, with warm water and low shear. It's heading west northwest at about 15 mph and has winds just below 30 mph, up about 5 mph from Sunday.

Tropical waves are masses of thunderstorms that move off the coast of Africa every few days and head west across the Atlantic. Some become seeds for hurricanes, though storms that develop from tropical waves in the Atlantic tend to form later in the season.

Forecast models vary on where the wave will travel, though most take it into the northeast part of the Caribbean toward Haiti in five days.

Once Bertha passes Bermuda, the steering currents become complicated, hurricane forecasters said. The forecast models vary widely on how Bertha will react to an area of low pressure developing to the northeast of the storm.

The forecast track has Bertha turning and heading to the southeast before taking a path to the northeast that would move the storm farther from land.

Still, the forecast has Bertha maintaining winds of about 55 mph through Saturday. If that's accurate, Bertha would be a named storm for 16 days. Bertha became a tropical storm on July 3.

Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7731 or njohnson@tampatrib.com.

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT