Hurricane Fiona literally pummeled the Turks and Caicos on Tuesday, September 20th, as a Category 3 storm and poses a threat to Bermuda and parts of eastern Canada later this week, and are cautioning about new development in the Atlantic basin that could be a danger to the mainland United States late in the month.
After the Atlantic basin was virtually dormant throughout August, the month of September has been crackling with tropical activity, and there are multiple candidates that could develop into named systems in the Atlantic over the next couple of weeks. The next names on the Atlantic list of tropical storms this season are Hermine and Ian.
In the short term, a system that was dubbed Tropical Depression Eight Tuesday morning over the middle of the Atlantic was further upgraded to Tropical Storm Gaston as of Tuesday afternoon. Gaston is not expected to be a threat to the Caribbean or North America, but it could wander close enough to the Azores to bring strong winds, rough seas and heavy rain as a strong tropical storm or perhaps a hurricane later this week and this weekend.
 |
| This satellite image was taken on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2022, it shows Hurricane Fiona (left), Tropical Storm Gaston (upper center), a strong tropical wave (lower left of center) and a tropical wave over Africa (right). (AccuWeather RealVue™ satellite). |
Another system being monitored is a robust tropical wave that was located over western Africa Tuesday. As this system reaches the Atlantic and enters into an atmosphere that will be favorable for development, it could form and quickly ramp up into an organized tropical system by mid-to-late week.
The system that is of greatest concern for people in the Caribbean, and perhaps the U.S., is a strong tropical wave, which AccuWeather is currently referencing as a tropical rainstorm. This same system is designated Invest 98L by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and was located near the northeastern coast of South America Tuesday.
Source: Accuweather
