Hurricane season’s not over yet: late season system strengthening in the Caribbean
Don’t sigh yet. A storm churning deep in the southwest Caribbean is threatening to strengthen to a tropical depression by the end of the week.
The late season system has an 80 percent chance of becoming a depression by Sunday or over the weekend as it moves into an area likely to cause the storm to slowly strengthen, National Hurricane Center forecasters said Tuesday afternoon. The wave is moving northward and to the northeast off the coast of Colombia.
Slow development of broad low pressure over SW Caribbean expected. A tropical depression likely to form by late week or during weekend. #90L pic.twitter.com/kW48t802Un
— NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) November 15, 2016
If the storm strengthens, it would become the 16th tropical depression in the deadliest Atlantic season since 2005. In late September, Hurricane Matthew became a powerful Cat 5 storm, barreling up the Caribbean and causing more than 1,600 deaths, mostly in Haiti.
So far, the 2016 season has generated 15 tropical depressions, with six hurricanes and three major hurricanes reaching Cat 3 intensity.
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This story was originally published November 15, 2016 at 10:48 AM with the headline "Hurricane season’s not over yet: late season system strengthening in the Caribbean."