- Hurricane Larry is expected to reach Category 4 force over the open waters of the Central Atlantic Ocean this weekend.
- The storm could eventually approach Bermuda – or even veer towards North America.
- Forecasters were also watching a depression in the Caribbean.
After the catastrophic track of Hurricane Ida and its remnants over the southern and eastern United States this week, the Atlantic hurricane season 2021 shows no signs of slowing down.
Hurricane Larry is expected to reach Category 4 force over open waters in the Central Atlantic Ocean this holiday weekend, forecasters from the National Hurricane Center said on Friday.
A Category 4 hurricane has winds between 130 and 156 mph. As of Monday morning, Larry is expected to have sustained winds of 140 mph as he roars in the central Atlantic, the Hurricane Center said.
The storm is expected to stay over the Atlantic for several days, but it could eventually approach Bermuda – or even veer into North America, AccuWeather said.
On Friday, Larry was located over 1,000 miles west of the southernmost islands of Cabo Verde and was moving west at 16 mph. It is about 2,500 miles east of most places on the east coast of the United States
Following:The 2021 hurricane season is half over: after an intense start, is there more to come in September?
Although Larry is expected to stay away from most land areas for the next few days, “the swells generated by Larry are expected to reach the Lesser Antilles on Sunday. These swells are likely to cause potentially fatal surf and tear conditions,” said the Hurricane Center. .
There are indications the storm could approach Newfoundland, Canada around September 10 and 11, AccuWeather said.
Meanwhile, forecasters were also monitoring a low pressure system in the Caribbean, which could affect the Gulf coast by the end of next week.
“There is a small window of opportunity for development as this low moves north into the northwestern Gulf of Mexico at the end of next week into an area of low windshear and very water. hot, ”said AccuWeather meteorologist Dan Kottlowski. “If it is able to do this, there is a chance that it will become an organized tropical system off Texas or the southwest coast of Louisiana.”
The Hurricane Center gives this system a 30% chance of transforming into a tropical depression or storm within the next five days.
“It is too early to provide details of the potential impacts, but regardless of the development of the tropical cyclone, there could be increased humidity and precipitation along parts of the northern Gulf coast during the week. next, “the New Orleans National Weather Service office said Friday.
The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, has been brutal so far, with 12 named storms, five of which have hit the United States (Danny, Elsa, Fred, Henri and Ida). And the typical peak of the season is still a few days before September 10.
“We’re well ahead of schedule, especially for named storms,” Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach told USA TODAY this week.
