On Tuesday, Tropical Storm Gaston was gaining steam in the eastern Atlantic off South America and on a northwest track with the prediction it would become a hurricane within the next couple of days, said Bob Robichaud of the Canadian Hurricane Centre.
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A quick uptick in intensity to hurricane strength should allow for a rather sharp turn to the north which would keep the tropical cyclone well to the east of the USA over the open Atlantic so no local impacts.
It’s heading out to take a closer look at what’s called a tropical wave east of the Leeward Islands “to see if it is organizing into a more serious tropical depression”, NHS spokesman Dennis Feltgen told NBC News.
Forecasters expect the system to strengthen and possibly become a tropical storm Monday night or Tuesday. Moving west-northwest at 20 miles per hour, Gaston has a projected path that will take it east of Bermuda by sometime on Sunday. Another 6-11 named storms could form between now and the end of hurricane season.
The system has a 50 per cent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone during the next five days. Meteorologists say conditions are favorable for development within the next few days. The storm now is in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean and poses no threat to land.
Currently, there are no watches or warnings in effect for this storm.
Spaghetti models are in general agreement that Invest 99L will move in a west-northwesterly direction towards Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and the east coast of Florida later in the week. It poses no threat to land.
Now a tropical wave, 99L was on track to bring rain and wind to the Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico over the next few days.
And the storm itself is still ragged and struggling, according to reports from Hurricane Hunter aircraft.
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The disturbance is bringing gusty winds and heavy rains that could result in flash floods and mud slides, regardless of tropical cyclone formation. People from the northeastern Caribbean Sean to the Bahamas should monitor the system.
