Tropical Update: Atlantic, Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico! A brief flare up of thunderstorms this evening was just enough to upgrade Invest 93-L to Tropical Storm Bertha, the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical Storm Warnings are now in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, and Dominica in the Lesser Antilles. A Tropical Storm Warning means winds of 39 mph or higher are expected across these islands within the next 36 hours. A Tropical Storm Watch has also been issued for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and portions of the Windward Islands, meaning tropical storm conditions are possible there within the next 48 hours. Although the area of low pressure area now has a name, the expected impacts havent changed. Bertha will bring squally weather to the islands of the eastern Caribbean this weekend with locally heavy rainfall but isnt expected to be a significant wind storm. The environment ahead of the storm remains mostly unfavorable and only little strengthening is forecast over the next several days. Bertha will be moving into an increasingly dry atmosphere with moderate wind shear. If the circulation holds together through the Caribbean, it could pose a threat to the Bahamas by Sunday. A dip in the jet stream digging into the southeast U.S. late this weekend should steer Bertha or its remnants northward and eventually northeastward and away from the U.S.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 09:43:54 +0000