As the peak of hurricane season nears, two storms are being monitored for possible impacts on land, one in the Pacific and one in the Atlantic.
Elida, a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 100 mph, is forecast to stay out in the eastern Pacific. It will not impact land directly, but hazards from hurricanes extend well beyond the center of the storm.
Swells generated by Elida are expected to cause life-threatening surf and rip currents along the west-central Mexican coast and the Southern Baja California Peninsula.
Offshore swells as high as 25 feet will also be a hazard for mariners.
“Although Elida is a hurricane, it will likely track to the northwest over colder water and die,” said CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.
Though Elida is expected to begin weakening sometime Wednesday, more developments are anticipated in its wake.
“The tropics of the eastern Pacific off the west coast of Mexico appear to be getting very active,” Myers said. “The computer models are predicting two more tropical storms behind this one.”
The earliest ‘J’ storm could form later this week
Tropical Depression 11 formed in the Atlantic Tuesday afternoon and is expected to develop into Tropical Storm Josephine over the next couple of days.
The system is expected to strengthen slightly and become Tropical Storm Josephine in the next 24 to 48 hours. If it does become a tropical storm, it would be the earliest storm to on record to begin with a “J.” The previous record was August 22, 2005.
This would continue the record-setting pace of this hurricane season, which has smashed previous records set during the infamous 2005 season. That season saw 28 named storms, 15 of which were hurricanes.
Tropical Depression 11 is about 1,450 miles east of the Lesser Antilles and is moving west at 16 mph.Computer models are suggesting it will move to the north of the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico this weekend, as a tropical storm.
Whether it will affect the mainland United States remains uncertain, but the system is expected to encounter less favorable conditions as it moves near or north of the Leeward Islands. This should keep the storm weak and could even cause it to dissipate over the weekend.
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. The areas covered include the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
