Tropical Depression #6 Develops Over Far Eastern Atlantic

We will now begin shifting gears from the Louisiana flooding to the tropics as they are beginning to wake up.
 
This past Sunday invest 98-L was designated over the far Eastern Tropical Atlantic. It tracked quickly westward over the Eastern Atlantic over the past two days and gradually developed. This evening it became significantly more organized and was designated Tropical Depression 6 by the National Hurricane Center at 11:00PM EDT this evening.
As of the 11:00pm advisory Tropical Depression 6 had winds of 35mph, a minimum central pressure of 1008 millibars, and was located at 12.6 degrees north and 34.1 degrees west moving Northwest.

Forecast for Tropical Depression 6

Tropical Depression 6 is forecast to strengthen into Tropical Storm Fiona tomorrow morning. It is expected to track  northwest over the next five days gradually strengthening as it does.

Presently the National Hurricane Center is forecasting soon to be Fiona to reach peak intensity on Sunday with winds of 60mph. However, it could potential become stronger. Fiona will not impact the United States or any land areas for that matter.

A weakness in the subtropical ridge across the Atlantic will allow Fiona to move harmlessly out to sea.

Atlantic Entering Active Period

Tropical Depression 6 (Fiona) is not expected to impact the United States or any land areas. However, the development of this system is important as it could potentially signal that the Atlantic hurricane season is about to enter an active period over the next two months.

Several strong tropical waves are expected to emerge off of Africa over the next 7 – 10 days and there are signs that 2 – 3 of them could attempt to develop. Although, it remains to be seen if these waves will develop, or if they would make it far enough west to impact the United States.

We will have another update out tomorrow. 

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Caleb Carmichael
Caleb Carmichael

Caleb is the owner of Gulf Coast Storm Center. He is currently an undergraduate student at Mississippi State University majoring in geoscience with a concentration in broadcast and operational meteorology. While not yet a meteorologist, Caleb has been providing weather updates, news, and analysis for the Gulf Coast since 2014.

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