National Hurricane Center monitoring a tropical wave moving away from Africa

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - With most of June being quiet in the tropics, a new wave moving off the coast of Africa has the attention of the National Hurricane Center.

The agency says a tropical wave moving very slowly west in the far eastern Atlantic has a medium chance of development over the next 5 days, per Thursday evening’s update. The wave will move into a more favorable environment for organization in the coming days and may continue to develop over the next week or two, but there is still a large degree of uncertainty regarding the track and overall strength. It has been tagged as the latest area of interest, now known as Invest 94-L.

The outlook jumped from a low 20% 5-day development chance to a medium 40% potential in the same amount of time, between the 1 p.m and 7 p.m. update from the Hurricane Center. Here was the latest details from the agency per the evening tropical weather outlook:

Water temperatures in the tropical Atlantic where this system is expected to pass through the weekend are currently around 80°. Once it reaches the Caribbean, the surface of the water is warmer, around 85°. Upper-level winds do seem favorable and not overly hostile as this tropical wave moves west. That seems to be the case next week in the Caribbean as well, however, the air is expected to be drier which could hinder development potential. This is a long play system, meaning it is too early to speculate on the particulars of where it is headed, what it could strengthen into, or where impacts could be experienced. If it were to become a tropical storm, the next name for the season is Bonnie.

File this one under “something to watch” and no concern for now. As we move farther into the summer, more waves and “areas to watch” will pop up. We will keep you updated as we near the end of the month and move into July.

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