As Nana and Omar fade away, forecasters monitoring multiple Atlantic systems
Tribune News Service
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The National Hurricane Center is no longer tracking the short life of Hurricane Nana, as the system degenerated into a tropical storm and then a remnant low Thursday.
Tropical Depression Omar is expected to start fizzling out as well. But the NHC is tracking four systems with the potential to become the next tropical depression or tropical storm, according to the latest advisory.
Forecasters are turning their attention to an area of the Atlantic midway between the Windward Islands and the west coast of Africa that is bustling with activity from tropical waves.
One is an area of low pressure with disorganized showers and thunderstorms, according to the hurricane center.
Another moved off the coast of Africa on Thursday. It is merging with a disturbance a couple of hundred miles southeast of the Cape Verde Islands, the hurricane center said.
The system will develop and could become a tropical depression early next week as it moves slowly westward over the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean, according to the latest outlook.
Another wave is expected to move off the coast of Africa over the weekend. A tropical depression could form next week as it moves west over the ocean.
Finally, in the north-central Atlantic, the NHC is monitoring a nontropical area of low pressure about 600 miles south of Cape Race Newfoundland expected to move north-northeastward at 15 mph. The NHC gives it a 20% chance of formation in the next two days.
If any of the systems maintain sustained winds of 39 mph, it would become the 16th named system of the 2020 hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Earlier this summer, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration updated its forecast predicting between 19 and 25 named storms.
This is the time of year when storms tend to form in the open Atlantic, particularly near the Cape Verde Islands. Those storms, which grow in size and intensity as they make the long trek westward across the Atlantic Ocean, are historically the most powerful and destructive hurricanes.
Nana hit the coast of Belize early Thursday as a low-end Category 1 hurricane that weakened to a tropical depression and dissipated.
Nana made landfall about 45 miles south of Belize City late Wednesday night. Once over land, its strength decreased. All watches and warnings for Nana were canceled as of 11 a.m. Thursday.
The hurricane center issued its final advisory for Nana at 11 p.m. Thursday with its remnants moving to the west-southwest at 14 mph and expected to move over the eastern Pacific near the Gulf of Tehuantepec. It still had sustained winds near 30 mph and higher gusts and was dumping up to 6 inches of rain in some parts of Guatemala and Mexico.
Nana, the season’s fifth hurricane and 14th tropical storm, formed Tuesday about 120 miles south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica. There have been four other hurricanes this season: Hanna, Isaias, Laura and Marco.
Laura was the season’s first major hurricane, making landfall in Cameron, Louisiana, as a Category 4 on Aug. 27. Hanna, Isias and Marco were Category 1 hurricanes that made landfall in Padre Island, Texas; Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina; and at the mouth of the Mississippi River, respectively.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Omar was downgraded to a tropical depression after encountering storm-weakening, upper-level winds over the open Atlantic.
Omar, the season’s 15th tropical storm, formed about 225 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, on Tuesday, about five hours after Nana.
What was left of Omar was located about 415 miles east-northeast of Bermuda, the 5 a.m. Friday advisory said. It was moving east at 7 mph, with 30 mph winds and higher gusts.
It is expected to degenerate into a remnant low and dissipate by Saturday. The storm is not believed to make any threat of landfall.
The remaining monikers for named storms this season in the Atlantic are: Paulette, Rene, Sally, Teddy, Vicky and Wilfred.
In August, the federal government issued an updated forecast for the season, predicting as many as 25 storms, which is more than the agency has ever forecast. The tropical weather experts at Colorado State University predicted 2020 could be the second-busiest season on record, behind only 2005, the year that produced Katrina and Wilma.