The tropics remain quite active in the Atlantic Basin with three systems all bucking to become hurricanes by the end of the weekend or early next week.
After briefly becoming a major hurricane, Tropical Storm Florence had undergone a fair bit of upper atmospheric shear late this week reducing the system down to a tropical storm.
The storm however, will get into a much more favorable environment for strengthening into early next week and is currently expected to become a major category 4 hurricane again with 130 mph winds by Wednesday as it travels west-northwestward.
While too early to predict, Florence could pose a significant threat to portions of the East Coast from the Carolinas northward later next week.
Meanwhile in the far eastern Atlantic, Tropical Depression #8 was upgraded to Tropical Storm Helene near the African Coast.
This system will likely become a hurricane, but is anticipated to turn northward and remain and Atlantic system.
Farther to the west, of greater interest to the Caribbean, Tropical Depression #9 is also expected to become a tropical storm later this weekend and a hurricane next week.
The storm could approach the Eastern Caribbean by Thursday as at least a category 2 hurricane. The next name on the list will be “Isaac”.
While it is way to early (by a week) to predict where the “future Isaac” may go, if it does become a threat to the Gulf of Mexico, that would not occur for roughly 11-15 days.
Residents of Acadiana may remember the recycled name Isaac…in 2012 Hurricane Isaac pummeled Southeast Louisiana as a category one hurricane, inundated non-levied/unprotected communities.
In Acadiana, Isaac brought 40-45 mph wind gusts and just a few sprinkles even though the storm passed within 60 miles of Lafayette.
