Tropical Atlantic may spring to life this weekend

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com

AccuWeather reports  an area of disturbed weather over the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Leeward Islands, is being monitored for tropical development through the weekend.

While strong winds above the sea surface were inhibiting development this week, the system is forecast by AccuWeather.com meteorologists to move into an area where winds aloft are less strong.

According to AccuWeather.com Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski, “As the disturbance moves into this zone of lower wind shear and remains over warm water, environmental conditions could support development of a tropical or sub-tropical system this weekend into early next week.”

Steering winds may take this system near Bermuda by early next week.

“It is possible this system pesters Bermuda with a few days of squalls and gales,” Kottlowski said.

“During the middle of next week the system, whether it develops tropically or not, may either be swept out to the northeast, or possibly drawn westward toward New England or the Maritime provinces of Canada.”

Elsewhere over the Atlantic Basin, another area AccuWeather.com meteorologists will be keeping an eye on is a broad area of clouds, showers and thunderstorms over Central America, centered around Honduras and Nicaragua.

“This slowly turning area of weak low pressure might spin off a tropical system on the Atlantic or Pacific side of Central America during next week,” Kottlowski said.

During October, on average, areas most likely for tropical development in the Atlantic Basin tend to shift closer to the near-shore waters of North and Central America.

The last tropical system over the Atlantic was Edouard, which lost tropical characteristics about three weeks ago, on Friday, Sept., 19, 2014.

For reference, should one or both of the systems develop, the next names on the 2014 Atlantic list of tropical storms and hurricanes are Fay and Gonzalo.

Should a system develop on the Pacific side of Central America, the next name on the list of eastern Pacific tropical cyclones for 2014 is Trudy.