Tropical Storm Gonzalo to soak Cabo Verde before weakening amid historically quiet Atlantic hurricane season
Tropical Storm Gonzalo has strengthened after forming late Thursday off the coast of Africa, just the 7th named storm in the Atlantic Basin, amid the slowest start to hurricane season in the satellite era (since 1966) as hostile El Niño-driven winds have dominated much of the basin.
THE TAKEAWAY
Tropical Storm Gonzalo has strengthened after forming late Thursday off the coast of Africa, just the seventh named storm in the Atlantic Basin, amid the slowest start to hurricane season in the satellite era (since 1966) as hostile El Niño-driven winds have dominated much of the basin.
Gonzalo is forecast to soak the Cabo Verde Islands before gradually weakening this weekend. It is currently located 35 miles south-southeast of Cabo Verde, moving north at 12 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Gonzalo strengthened from Invest 90L, which was designated earlier this week, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Gonzalo currently has maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and is expected to move northward into the open Atlantic through the week.
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A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the Cabo Verde Islands, with 1 to 3 inches of rain expected across the eastern islands.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Fay restrengthened into a tropical storm on Thursday, after briefly becoming a tropical depression on Wednesday. Fay has sustained winds of 50 mph about 1,000 miles west-southwest of the Azores.
LATEST FROM FOX WEATHER HURRICANE SPECIALIST BRYAN NORCROSS
Fay approached, but failed to reach hurricane strength earlier this week amid the Atlantic's quietest start to hurricane season in the satellite era, with no hurricanes thus far.
The only years without recorded hurricanes are 1914 and 1907. However, as FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross notes, hurricanes could have formed in those years that went undetected because they remained far from land and ships at sea.
According to NOAA, El Niño is the main driving factor behind the dearth of Atlantic tropical activity. The strong winds produced by the climate pattern hinder tropical development; calm conditions are generally more conducive to hurricane formation.
However, experts at NOAA and FOX Weather still caution people to not let their guard down. Climatologically, about 40% of the season’s hurricane activity still remains.
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