National Hurricane Center tracking new tropical wave. Wet week ahead for Florida

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2 days ago

The Atlantic hurricane season officially began Sunday, June 1, and meteorologists from NOAA to AccuWeather are predicting an above-normal season.
For the present, all is quiet in the tropics, although repeated showers and thunderstorms are expected to impact much of Florida in the coming days.
No tropical cyclone activity is expected over the next seven days.
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Saharan dust moving across the Atlantic is helping to keep the tropics quiet. The dust helps prevent storms from developing or strengthening.
Historically, tropical systems in June develop close to the U.S., off the southeast coast or in the Gulf of America or Caribbean. Later in the season, storms typically form out of tropical waves moving off the coast of Africa.
Here's the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center as of 8 a.m., June 2.
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring a tropical wave off the coast of Africa south of Cabo Verde. It's moving west at 17 mph.
Forecasters urge all residents to keep an eye on the tropics and to always be prepared.
A tropical wave is a system of low pressure that moves westward across the tropics. Waves can lead to the formation of tropical cyclones, under the right conditions, according to the National Weather Service.
The majority of tropical cyclones develop out of tropical waves, which also are called easterly waves, according to NOAA. AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said 85% of all tropical storms can trace their origins to tropical waves.
"If a tropical wave survives its journey westward, it will find increasingly warm waters and moist air as it approaches the Lesser Antilles, a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea," AccuWeather said.
Historically, named storms that develop in June pop up off the southeastern coast of the U.S. and the Gulf of America, according to data from NOAA and the National Weather Service.
By August, storms usually develop in the Atlantic or as they emerge as tropical waves off the coast of Africa.
AccuWeather meteorologists are monitoring the western Caribbean, Gulf of America and the Florida Straits for potential tropical or subtropical development during the second week of June.
"Conditions may become favorable for a tropical depression or storm between June 7 and 12 due to increased moisture and lower wind shear," AccuWeather said.
Impacts such as heavy rainfall and gusty winds may reach from the central Gulf Coast to the southeastern U.S. in the first two weeks of the Atlantic hurricane season.
"Should the first tropical depression or tropical storm unfold in the Atlantic during the second week of June, where it tracks will depend on how quickly it ramps up and the steering breezes at the time."
Over the next week to 10 days, moist and dry air will alternate over the Caribbean and as far north as Florida waters in the Gulf and Atlantic, according to AccuWeather. Some of the dry air episodes will be accompanied by Saharan dust.
➤ Excessive rainfall forecast
"A moist zone is forecast to develop along the tail end of a cool front from South Florida to the Bahamas and Cuba into to early this week. Repeating showers and heavy thunderstorms in this region can bring several inches of rain," according to AccuWeather.
The next few days will bring multiple rounds of heavy rainfall and the potential for localized flooding, the National Weather Service Miami posted on X. One to 3 inches of rain is likely across most of South Florida. There's a 10 percent chance some areas could see up to 4 inches of rain.
"The heaviest rain today (June 2) is expected to be south of I-75, but there still remains a slight chance of flash flooding across all of the east coast metros.
The East Coast and Central Florida could see 1 to 2 inches of rain today, with some areas possibly getting 3 to 5 inches, especially along and inland from the Treasure Coast, according to the National Weather Service Melbourne.
Florida's west coast also could see showers and thunderstorms and some could "become severe and produce damaging wind and hail," according to the National Weather Service Tampa Bay. Up to 4 inches of rain could cause flooding.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.
Ninety-seven percent of tropical cyclone activity occurs during this time period, NOAA said.
The Atlantic basin includes the northern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of America, as the Gulf of Mexico is now known in the U.S. per an order from President Trump. NOAA and the National Hurricane Center are now using Gulf of America on its maps and in its advisories.
The peak of the season is Sept. 10, with the most activity happening between mid-August and mid-October, according to the Hurricane Center.
Systems currently being monitored by the National Hurricane Center include:
We will update our tropical weather coverage daily.
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Hurricane season is here as Hurricane Center tracking tropical wave