Tropical Storm Fay weakened to a tropical depression before degenerating into a remnant low Tuesday as forecasters watch for a new disturbance that is expected to emerge off Africa.
Fay formed early Sunday, southwest of the Azores, in a well-below-average hurricane season that has produced just six tropical storms and no hurricanes. Hurricane season, which runs through Nov. 30, passed its statistical peak on Sept. 10.
“It’s extremely unusual, of course, to get this far into the season with the Atlantic hurricane-free,” Fox Weather hurricane expert Bryan Norcross wrote on his Hurricane Intel blog. “But this week is only the mid-point of the hurricane season for South Florida, if you average landfall dates over the long-term record.”
Meanwhile, a tropical wave is expected to move off western Africa late Tuesday night or early Wednesday, according to the hurricane center.
“Although upper-level winds are not very conducive for development, a tropical depression could form while it moves generally northwestward across the far eastern Atlantic,” the hurricane center’s latest advisory said.
As of Tuesday night, the hurricane center has given it a 40% chance of developing in the next seven days and a 20% chance of developing in the next two days, increased odds from earlier in the day Tuesday.
The National Hurricane Center said a tropical wave is forecast to move off of Africa’s coast by Wednesday. It has a 40% chance of developing in the next seven days and a 20% chance of developing in the next two days. (National Hurricane Center/Courtesy)
The next storm to form in the Atlantic would be Gonzalo.