Beryl set to become a hurricane on Friday

As of late Thursday night, the National Hurricane Center was following two systems in the Atlantic. An area of low pressure close to Bermuda, and Tropical Storm Beryl in the Mid-Atlantic Ocean.

 

 

 "Beryl" was a mere tropical wave two days ago, becoming a depression Thursday at 11 am, and then turning in to a storm by 2:30 pm. Since then, its been gaining strength with winds around 65 mph. It is aiming for the Lesser Antilles and could arrive there by the weekend.

 

  According to Colorado State University, Tropical Storm "Beryl", is the furthest southeast a named storm has formed this early in the season. Even with dry air surrounding it and Saharan dust to the north, its been able to tap into moisture from its south with just enough energy to allow it to intensify.

 

Where is it headed?

 

  

The official forecast cone from NHC, has Beryl, becoming a category one system on Friday. High pressure to the north along with the trade winds to the south will propel the system west towards the islands.

 

 "Beryl" is expected to hit a wall as it nears the Lesser Antilles in the form of shear. These are very strong upper level winds that help cut down tropical storms. If "Beryl" reaches category one status, it should weaken to tropical storm status, maybe even weaker. This still means gusty winds and rain, so DO NOT let your guard down across the Lesser Antilles.

 How far from South Florida?

 

This tropical storm is over 2000 miles from South Florida and is no concern for us.

 Another area to watch

 

There is another system NHC is looking into, and that is Invest 96L.  This is an area NHC would like to INVEST-igate further, 96 is a tracking number, and "L" stands for the Atlantic Basin.  It has a 50% chance for development over 5 days in the area highlighted.

If it does organize, it will get trapped near the coast by high pressure to the east and a front coming out of the nation's mid section.

We'll keep you updated