Tropical Storm Earl predicted to turn into a hurricane: Forecasters

As Hurricane Daniel slithers into the open Atlantic, Tropical Storm Earl is expected to pass through the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Sunday before turning into a hurricane later this week, meteorologists said.

As of the National Hurricane Advisory Center at 11 a.m. Sunday, Tropical Storm Earl was located about 85 miles northeast of St. Thomas, moving northwest at 3 miles per hour with maximum sustained winds maintained at 50 miles per hour.

Earl’s gale-force tropical winds spanned up to 105 miles.

Parts of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico can expect up to 6 inches of torrential rain and gale-force winds.

Earl is expected to move north away from the islands and make a sharp turn north-northeast away from the Caribbean on Monday and Tuesday. Hurricane Earl is expected to form Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“The Earl is expected to bend sharply and quickly, allowing the storm to pass south and east of the island. Direct impacts are unlikely, however the Earl may generate rough currents and rip currents that can affect the island during this,” said Alan Ripert, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. the week.

After spending most of the day as a tropical storm, Hurricane Daniel saw its maximum winds intensify to 75 mph late Saturday night.

As of 11 a.m. Sunday, Danielle was approximately 1,000 miles offshore in the North Atlantic and heading west at 1 mph.

Forecasters say a low pressure area could form later this week from a tropical wave near Africa, and a gradual development is possible because this system generally moves from west to northwest in the Atlantic Ocean.

As of early Sunday, the National Hurricane Center gave it a 20% chance of developing over the next five days.

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Hurricane Daniel’s maximum winds reached 80 mph Sunday morning, and some gradual strengthening is expected through Monday.

Its hurricane-force winds extended 15 miles from its center, with tropical storm-force winds extending 125 miles. As of 11 a.m. Sunday, Danielle was about 995 miles west of the Azores as it drifted over the Atlantic.

[ STAY UPDATED with the latest forecast for tropical weather at SunSentinel.com/hurricane ]

Danielle and Earl are the first named storms to form in the Atlantic Ocean since early July, when Tropical Storm Colin formed off the Carolina coast. It comes after a quiet August with no identified storms, which has only happened for the third time since 1961.

The 2020 hurricane season set a record with 30 named systems, while the 2021 season was the third most active with 21 named systems. The average year calls for 14 named storms.

The next storm to form will be Fiona.

[ RELATED: Calm before storms? Hurricane season is oddly quiet Atlantic despite forecasts ]

Meteorologists say dry air, desert dust and wind breaks were among the reasons why there were no more storms this year.

[ RELATED: 30 years after Hurricane Andrew: How resilient is South Florida? ]

Hurricane season ends on November 30th.