Earl becomes a hurricane as Danielle weakens in the Atlantic. What the forecast says
The Atlantic is bustling with activity Tuesday, and forecasters are watching four systems:
A tropical wave over western Africa is expected to move into the Atlantic and a disturbance in the eastern Atlantic could turn into a tropical depression in the next few days. A struggling Hurricane Danielle could lose its tropical strength this week. And Earl turned into a hurricane Tuesday night.
Two disturbances
The National Hurricane Center on Tuesday announced it was watching a new tropical wave over western Africa.
The system is forecast to emerge into the eastern Atlantic in a day or two, where conditions could be friendly to some development as it moves west to northwest. It had a 0% chance of formation through the next 48 hours and a low 20% chance of formation through the next five days as of the 8 p.m. advisory.
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Forecasters are also watching another disturbance in the eastern Atlantic that has a 50% chance of formation through the next 48 hours and a 60% chance of formation through the next five days. The area of low pressure was producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms from the Cabo Verde Islands to several hundred miles southwest.
While the disturbance could turn into a depression as it moves west to west-northwest, forecasters also noted in the advisory that upper-level winds are expected to become “less conducive for development” later this week.
Hurricane Earl
Earl became a hurricane Tuesday night with 80 mph winds, the NHC said in its 8 p.m. advisory.
Hurricane Earl is moving north and this motion is expected to continue into Wednesday with a gradual turn to the north-northeast on Thursday.
On the forecast track, the center of Earl is expected to pass to the southeast of Bermuda by Friday morning. As a result, the Bermuda Weather Service issued a tropical storm watch.
Earl’s wind speeds are expected to peak at 125 mph on Friday, making it a strong Category 3 hurricane.
READ MORE: Watch crews rescue fisherman from Tropical Storm Earl’s waves off U.S. Virgin Islands
“Earl’s center is expected to pass to the southeast of Bermuda in 48-60 hours,” the NHC said. “However, the size of the wind field of the tropical cyclone is expected to increase significantly, and the Bermuda Weather Service has issued a tropical storm watch for the Island of Bermuda.”
Hurricane Danielle
Hurricane Danielle is holding its own over the north-central Atlantic with 75 mph winds, the NHC said in its 8 p.m. advisory.
“The cyclone’s structure has stabilized since early this morning and the cloud tops have been cooling slightly over the past several hours, suggesting that any weakening that had been occurring overnight has temporarily ended,” the NHC said.
The combination of cooler waters and Danielle’s interaction with another system, the NHC said, should cause it to weaken further, turning into a large post-tropical system by Thursday.
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This story was originally published September 6, 2022 at 7:17 AM.
