Tropical Storm Emily formed Sunday in the Atlantic Ocean about 100 miles west-northwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, becoming the fifth named storm of the hurricane season. Image courtesy National Hurricane Center
Aug. 20 (UPI) — Even as Hurricane Hilary was battering the southwestern United States on Sunday, storm activity in the Atlantic Ocean heated up with the official formation of Tropical Storm Emily.
Satellite and wind data gathered by the National Hurricane Center indicated that Emily had formed at 11 a.m. EST about 100 miles west-northwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, becoming the fifth named storm of the Atlantic Basin hurricane season.
Emily was packing maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was heading west-northwest at about 10 mph. Little change in strength was forecast for Sunday and gradual weakening was likely, with Emily becoming a post-tropical remnant low by Tuesday.
Following a relatively quiet July in terms of tropical activity across the Atlantic ocean, the remaining weeks of August are beginning to paint a vastly different picture.
The NHC on Sunday was also tracking Tropical Depression Six, located several hundred miles east of the northern Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea. Forecasters say the depression is not expected to intensify into a tropical storm as it tracks to the west and will gradually loses wind intensity as it approaches edge of the Caribbean Islands.
Meanwhile, numerous tropical features are showing some level of promise for development this week, with AccuWeather forecasters calling for a moderate-to-high chance of development early this week for not one tropical wave, but several pieces of energy churning from the central Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico.
A tropical wave tracked westward over the Florida Peninsula throughout the day on Sunday has allowed for enhanced showers and thunderstorms to move into the region, creating rough surf and strong rip currents.
This wave is forecast to move westward across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and stands a high chance of developing into a short-lived tropical rainstorm as it tracks westward toward Texas and northeast Mexico.
“This feature will not have much time to develop before it likely moves into South Texas, although it will be moving across very warm water which can aid in rapid development,” explained AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski.
Locations along the Texas Gulf Coast are currently facing levels of moderate to extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Cities such as Corpus Christi, Texas, have not recorded any measurable rainfall in August so far.
Meanwhile, Brownsville and McAllen, Texas, have only observed a trace of precipitation to date.
Meanwhile, a robust cluster of rain and thunderstorms located in the eastern Caribbean Sea stands a high chance of development early this week.