Right on cue, the tropical Atlantic has come alive. In recent days, we’ve been following Tropical Storm Fiona over the open ocean waters. It remains a tropical system with no threat to land. Through the early week, Fiona will weaken and lose tropical characteristics. Could there be another system in developing stages? It sure appears so. Two such features will be watched all throughout the new week. One is in the central Atlantic (approximately mid way between the Lesser Antilles and Africa). The second “candidate” has just emerged off Africa. Both will initially move westward, before veering more northwest over time. Our region will have several days to monitor the progress of this potential activity. According to the National Hurricane Center, both will have opportunity to get stronger and more organized during the early to middle part of the week. It’s worth noting that early model forecast tracks take the mid ocean disturbance toward the Caribbean islands including Puerto Rico. While it’s too early to speculate too far (in this case, some 5 to 7 days) we’ll need to pay attention to its movement. Besides that, south Florida is in for an extra hot start to the week. Beach locations are likely to be drier than the western suburbs as the daily sea breeze moves inland. Rain and storm chances could jump slightly as steering winds turn by Wednesday. A rare summer cold front will be falling apart over north Florida by later in the week.
