


We’ve officially passed the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, yet the tropics remain extremely active with the development of Hurricane Nigel and two other areas being monitored for possible development – one off the coast of Africa and the other that could form off the southeastern U.S. coast.
The FOX Forecast Center has been monitoring the disturbance since it left the coast of Africa, but unlike its predecessor, Hurricane Lee, Nigel has gained enough northern latitude to likely stay clear of North America. Bermuda will want to keep an eye on the cyclone to monitor for any unexpected turns.
As of the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center, Nigel had maximum sustained winds of 90 mph with some higher gusts, making it a Category 1 storm.
Nigel is the fourteenth named storm and sixth hurricane of the season.
The NHC says Hurricane Nigel is about 630 miles east-southeast of Bermuda and was moving off to the north-northwest at 16 mph.
Nigel is expected to turn northward on Tuesday and then accelerate rapidly to the northeast through the rest of the week.
Forecasters say Nigel could strengthen through early Wednesday before weakening on Thursday and Friday. Nigel is expected to become a strong post-tropical cyclone on Friday.
Closer to home, the NHC has outlined an area off the Southeast U.S. coast for possible tropical development.
“A non-tropical area of low pressure is forecast to form east of the Florida peninsula late this week,” the NHC said. “This system could acquire some subtropical characteristics this weekend while it moves generally northward.”
Whether or not the area forms, the low-pressure system will bring relentless rain to Florida and the Southeast coast through the majority of the week.
The NHC says a tropical disturbance is expected to move off the African coast by Wednesday.
Environmental conditions are forecast to be favorable for development, and a tropical depression is likely to form later this week or over the weekend while the system moves off to the west across the eastern and central Atlantic Ocean.
The NHC is giving the system a 70% chance of developing over the next week.
There is currently no sign of the disturbance becoming a threat to land, but it bears watching, says FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross. “Long-range forecasts for systems that haven’t yet developed are always iffy,” Norcross said.