Tropical Update – Gabrielle Fizzles, Another Storm Brewing In The Gulf

Tropical storm Gabrielle was only a named storm for about 12 hours. In that 12 hours the system crossed over the rugged terrain of Puerto Rico and then encountered dry air aloft as well us wind shear in the upper levels. All of those factors are not conducive for tropical development. This will likely be the end of Gabrielle who has since been downgraded to a tropical depression.

Meanwhile a system in the Bay of Campeche has shown signs of strengthening. This could become Tropical Storm Humberto by later today. The Hurricane Center currents lists the probability of that happening at 50%. The system is moving westward toward the Mexican coast. The fact that it is less than 100 miles from a landfall will likely be the reason the system would not attain tropical storm status.

Elsewhere the tropical Atlantic Basin is very quiet especially for this the climatological peak of the hurricane season.