Could we see the 1st Atlantic Hurricane for 2013?

It has been a rather quiet year as far as the tropics are concerned. There have only been 7 systems named and none have reached hurricane status. This is great news.

Now we start the work week with a brand new depression that promises to intensify rather quickly and maybe reach hurricane intensity by Wednesday.

This is Tropical Depression #9. NHC has had it in its sights for quite a while monitoring it for days, even before it moved off the West Coast of Africa.

Models indicate it may become Tropical Storm "Humberto" on Monday and maybe reach hurricane strength by midweek. It will impact the Cape Verde Islands with some wind and rain, but after that it should only be a worry for the shipping lanes.

HURRICANE FACTOID
If this season ended with just one hurricane, it would rank as one of the most hurricane free years in recorded history.

Here are some of the most notable seasons:
YEAR              NUMBER OF HURRICANES
1925                                     1
1905                                     1
1914                                     0
1904                                     0

Of course back then there were no satellites, so the possibility exists of many storms having gone undetected.

REALITY CHECK:
We are almost at the halfway mark for the season. The peak of activity is the 10th of September, so there is still a second half to go. NHC still expects more systems to develop in the coming months, so please do not let your guard down. But wouldn't it be great if we were to finish with a quiet year? Keep those fingers crossed.