MIAMI, Aug. 18 (UPI) — Hurricane forecasters are keeping an eye on a patch of well-organized thunderstorms west-southwest of of the Cape Verde Islands as it moves west toward the Caribbean.
Also, a pair of twin cyclones in the Pacific — Typhoons Goni and Atsani — could pose a major threat to the Philippines and Taiwan in the coming days. Goni was at a category 4 and Atsani was at category 2 hurricane strength Tuesday morning.
The National Hurricane Center based in Miami gives the Atlantic storm a 90 percent chance of tropical cyclone formation in the next 48 hours and it could become a named storm as early as today.
Saharan dust and dry air from Africa to the north of the system could hinder its growth. As the storm becomes larger it is likely to ingest some of that air, weakening it.
At least one computer model (HWRF) was predicting the storm would become a category 1 hurricane by Thursday.
The storm, moving west-northwest at 10 to 15 mph, poses no immediate threat to land but could create problems for the eastern Caribbean late this week. The next named storm would be Danny.
Typhoon Goni could bring heavy rains and strong winds to the northern Philippines Wednesday and Thursday before turning northwest toward Taiwan.
Meanwhile, farther to the north an area of low pressure is expected to form within a
couple of hundred miles of Bermuda over the western Atlantic Ocean by the weekend
while it moves slowly northward. The chances of formation are slim and it poses no threat to land.
The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season happens in the coming weeks. It’s been a quiet Atlantic season so far with the onset of El Niño conditions in the Pacific.
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