Tropical Update – Tropical Wave Being Monitored By Hurricane Center

It is the middle of August and in the world of tropical cyclones this is your prime time to shine. So far the Atlantic Basin has been very quiet this tropical season. Many forecasters felt that would be the case with El Nino conditions occurring in the tropical Pacific Ocean. There is however a potential tropical trouble spot the National Hurricane Center forecasters are watching this morning.

The system as it sits right now is nothing more than an elongated area of low pressure with some gusty breezes and minimal thunderstorms surrounding it. This area of disturbed weather is located literally in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It's about half way between the Cape Verde Islands and the Lesser Antilles.

As of this morning the hurricane forecasters are suggesting that the potential for development of this system is rather small. The 2 day outlook suggest only a 10% chance of strengthening , while the 5 day outlook only raises that probability to 30%. Still conditions in that part of the world are becoming more favorable for development over the next few days.

Should this system intensify and achieve tropical storm status it would be the third named storm of the season and be called Cristobal.