Tropical Update – Fred Is Dead, Grace Moving Westward

As we approach the statistical peak of the Atlantic Hurricane season, which happens to be this Thursday, we have good news to share with you. There are no longer two tropical systems in the Atlantic basin. Tropical Depression Fred has finally dissipated and the National Hurricane Center is no longer issuing advisories on that particular system.

Tropical Storm Grace is being monitored by the Hurricane Center and will most likely start to gain more attention as the system moves rapidly westward across the Atlantic. This could become a very problematic storm for the island nations of the Caribbean and even the coastal United States if it were not for one atmospheric feature. Our old friend El Nino.

Forecasters expect Grace to track westward to the Antilles islands and the system may actually get a little more organized. Most of the models do show Grace maintaining tropical storm status for the next several days then the system will encounter a vigorous upper level wind shear compliments of El Nino.

Mores of the forecasters believe this shear will do to Grace what happened to Tropical Storm Erika a few weeks ago. The system will either struggle to maintain tropical storm status or simply dissipate into a tropical wave.

Regardless we will monitor Grace and her progress across the ocean for the next several days. Behind Grace there appears to be an uneasy calm. Perhaps we will slide down the backside of hurricane season quickly and get into cooler fall temperatures in the next few weeks.