The tropics are remaining active with less than two months remaining in the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season as Tropical Storm Sean formed early Wednesday in the eastern Atlantic, and a new disturbance is being monitored for development right behind it.
Here’s the latest on the active Atlantic Basin.
Tropical Storm Sean is centered more than 700 miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands and has sustained winds of 40 mph.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Sean is moving west-northwestward at about 13 mph and is expected to continue toward the west-northwest or northwest during the next few days.
Tropical Storm Sean is not expected to strengthen much over the coming days, likely remaining a low-end tropical storm.
By early next week, Sean is expected to weaken and lose its tropical characteristics.
Sean is the 19th storm to reach tropical storm status during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.
Right on Sean’s heels, a tropical disturbance just offshore of western Africa is producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms.
Some gradual development of this system is possible over the next several days while it moves westward across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic.
According to the NHC, the disturbance has a low chance of development over the next seven days.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN TROPICS AS HURRICANE SEASON ENTERS OCTOBER
The Atlantic Basin sees about one storm a year that develops around the Cabo Verde Islands in either the final days of September or in October.
In 2022, Tropical Depression Twelve developed on Oct. 4 southwest of the African islands but never strengthened into a named storm.
Before Tropical Storm Sean, the last named storm to traverse the eastern Atlantic this late in the hurricane season was Victor in 2021. Victor organized into a tropical storm on Sept. 21 and dissipated by Oct. 5.