Two weather disturbances and a tropical storm have formed in the Atlantic Ocean – however, none are currently forecast to pose a threat to the Caribbean region.
Tropical Storm Dexter is moving east away from the east coast of the United States at a speed of about 14 miles per hour (22.5 kilometres per hour).
According to a forecast from the National Hurricane Center at 11am on 4 August, maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph (75 km/h) with higher gusts.
“Some slight strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days, but Dexter is likely to become a post-tropical cyclone by the middle to latter portion of this week,” the centre said.
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An earlier 8am forecast said a broad area of low pressure is likely to develop in a few days a few hundred miles off the coast of the southeastern US.
It added that some gradual development is possible during the middle to latter portion of the week as the system drifts slowly westward to northwestward.
It has a 30% chance of forming a cyclone within the next seven days.
Meanwhile, a tropical wave moving west off the coast of Africa has a 50% chance of forming a cyclone within a week – but 0% chance in the next two days.
“In a few days, environmental conditions are forecast to become favourable for gradual development of this system,” the National Hurricane Center forecast said.
“A tropical depression could form by the latter portion of this week as it moves generally west-northwestward across the central tropical Atlantic.”
The current projected trajectory of the storm shows it travelling north, passing over the Caribbean region.
In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast increased storm risk this Atlantic hurricane season from June to November.
It predicted between 13 and 19 named cyclones with winds of 39 miles per hour or higher, with six to 10 forecast to become hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or higher.
Of those, the agency is expecting three to five to be major hurricanes, of category three, four or five, with winds of 111 mph or higher.
Information on how to prepare for a hurricane is available from the US National Weather Service here.
Visit the US National Hurricane Center for the latest cyclone updates at nhc.noaa.gov
