No threats in the tropics today

The new KatrinaBlog

The new KatrinaBlog for all Katrina-related discussions is worth continuing for a few more days. I know it is not an ideal solution and creates some problems for those who wish to communicate about everyting that is going on, but given the volume of posts I think we should continue this separation a while longer. Today, I am featuring a guest blogger on the KatrinaBlog--my wife, who is an emergency physician who will be on her way to the Gulf next week for a two-week shift wherever she's needed. I have also asked another wunderground blogger to assist me in managing and posting to the KatrinaBlog; this blog deserves more time and energy than one person (me) can provide. Again, this is an experiment that may fail, and your feedback is important on judging the success of this effort.

No TD 15
A tropical wave midway between Africa and the Lesser Antilles continues to look unimpressive as it tracks westward at 15 mph. However, the wave is beginning to work its way farther north away from the equator, which might help it get the extra spin needed to develop. We'll have to continue to watch this wave. It could start to develop when it gets closer to the Leeward Islands on Monday or Tuesday, where low wind shear and warm waters should be conducive to develpment.

Development by the Bahamas
Clouds have continued to slowly increase in an area of disturbed weather near and east of the Bahamas. Wind shear is still too high today for a tropical depression to form, but as the wind shear continues to decrease the next few days, something could develop in this region. The latest GFS model run shows that any storm that develops in this area would move slowly, and might push towards the Carolinas.

Tropical Storm Maria
Maria appears on her way to becoming the 5th hurricane of this unbelievable hurricane season. However, we are going to get lucky with this 13th storm of the season. Maria is tracking northward over open ocean, and has little chance of impacting any land areas. For those keeping track, Maria is the earliest 13th named storm ever, beating the record set in 1933, when the 13th tropical storm formed on September 8.
We're not quite halfway though hurricane season yet; historically, the halfway point comes September 10.

Jeff Masters