Tropical Storm Delta forms in central Caribbean
By
Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Oct 4, 2020 2:55 PM EST
While Tropical Storm Gamma continues to meander on the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, a tropical depression in the central Caribbean Sea strengthened to Tropical Storm Delta on Monday morning and is forecast to strengthen and take aim at the central Gulf coast of the United States.
A tropical low which moved through the Caribbean Sea this weekend was designated Potential Tropical Cyclone 26 by the National Hurricane Center on Sunday. By Sunday night, Tropical Depression 26 had formed just south of Jamaica, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph. The depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Delta prior to 8 a.m. EDT Monday. Forecasters say the storm may rapidly intensify once it is pulled northward into the central Gulf of Mexico into midweek.
As of 7:45 a.m. Monday, Delta was located about 270 miles southeast of Grand Cayman, and was moving to the west-northwest at around 9 mph.
A tropical storm warning has been issued for the Cayman Islands and a hurricane watch has been issued by the Cuban government for the Isle of Youth and the Cuban provinces of Pinar del Rio and Artemisa. A tropical storm watch has been issued for the Cuban province of La Habana.
This tropical cyclone will follow close behind Gamma, but is likely to take a different track and continue northward, allowing it to strengthen.
"Gamma is sending a rich plume of tropical moisture across most of the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico, where there is also an area of lower wind shear," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Matt Benz.
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These conditions should provide a window of time for Delta to strengthen into a hurricane, by the middle of the week.
Following the Greek alphabet, Delta became the 25th named tropical storm of the 2020 Atlantic season.
"Heavy, flooding rainfall will be the primary concern from Delta as it tracks across the Caribbean," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Randy Adkins said.
Rainfall amounts of 4-8 inches with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 12 inches are expected across Jamaica, the Isle of Youth and western Cuba as the system passes by.
"Flooding will result from this rain with mudslides possible in the higher terrain across interior Jamaica and western Cuba," Adkins said.
The strongest winds will be along and just to the east of where the center of this storm tracks, and wind gusts of 60-70 mph with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 80 mph are expected across western Cuba. This can lead to downed power lines, fallen trees and damage to weaker structures.
Delta’s closeness to Gamma might also ultimately determine where it will go after emerging in the Gulf of Mexico.
It is possible that we could see a Fujiwhara effect between Gamma and Delta. The Fujiwhara effect is when two tropical systems moving in such close proximity of each other that they begin to swirl around their common center. This can force either tropical system to temporarily change course.
Even factoring in the Fujiwhara effect, the new depression in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to bring its tropical moisture northward into the United States late in the week.
The path of this tropical system will send a plume of tropical moisture into the United States Gulf Coast later this week, forecasters say.
"Residents across the Gulf coast from southeast Texas to Florida should be prepared for a potential hurricane landfall at the end of the week or early next weekend," Adkins said.
The mainly dry weather that has held along the central Gulf Coast thus far in October will be replaced with heavy, tropical downpours late in the week and next weekend.
The exact track of the tropical feature will determine where the heaviest rain will fall. But all the locations along the Gulf Coast from Houston, Texas to Tampa, Florida, have been impacted by land-falling tropical systems already this season.
Some landfalls have been more recent, like Hurricane Sally that made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on Sept. 16, in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Less than a week later, Tropical Storm Beta made landfall on the Matagorda Peninsula of southeastern Texas, near the Texas-Louisiana border. Both systems brought drenching rainfall and flooding.
As such, residents along the entirety of the United States Gulf Coast should continue to check back with AccuWeather as forecasters monitor this tropical feature. A change in track could shift the area of greatest flood threat, and a change in intensity could bring damaging winds to the Gulf Coast beaches.
Should this system make landfall along the Gulf Coast as currently projected, it would be the tenth named storm to do so in the mainland U.S. this year, setting yet another record in this historic Atlantic hurricane season. 2020 has already tied 1916 for nine land-falling tropical systems in the U.S.
A storm nearing the U.S. Gulf Coast also has the potential to disrupt natural gas and oil production in that area, perhaps for several days depending on the forward speed of the tropical feature.
Tropical season in the Atlantic Basin officially ends on Nov. 30, but climatologically, the number of named tropical systems in the basin usually drops off significantly during the month of November.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Hurricane
Tropical Storm Delta forms in central Caribbean
By Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Oct 4, 2020 2:55 PM EST
While Tropical Storm Gamma continues to meander on the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, a tropical depression in the central Caribbean Sea strengthened to Tropical Storm Delta on Monday morning and is forecast to strengthen and take aim at the central Gulf coast of the United States.
A tropical low which moved through the Caribbean Sea this weekend was designated Potential Tropical Cyclone 26 by the National Hurricane Center on Sunday. By Sunday night, Tropical Depression 26 had formed just south of Jamaica, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph. The depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Delta prior to 8 a.m. EDT Monday. Forecasters say the storm may rapidly intensify once it is pulled northward into the central Gulf of Mexico into midweek.
As of 7:45 a.m. Monday, Delta was located about 270 miles southeast of Grand Cayman, and was moving to the west-northwest at around 9 mph.
A tropical storm warning has been issued for the Cayman Islands and a hurricane watch has been issued by the Cuban government for the Isle of Youth and the Cuban provinces of Pinar del Rio and Artemisa. A tropical storm watch has been issued for the Cuban province of La Habana.
This tropical cyclone will follow close behind Gamma, but is likely to take a different track and continue northward, allowing it to strengthen.
"Gamma is sending a rich plume of tropical moisture across most of the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico, where there is also an area of lower wind shear," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Matt Benz.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
These conditions should provide a window of time for Delta to strengthen into a hurricane, by the middle of the week.
Following the Greek alphabet, Delta became the 25th named tropical storm of the 2020 Atlantic season.
"Heavy, flooding rainfall will be the primary concern from Delta as it tracks across the Caribbean," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Randy Adkins said.
Rainfall amounts of 4-8 inches with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 12 inches are expected across Jamaica, the Isle of Youth and western Cuba as the system passes by.
"Flooding will result from this rain with mudslides possible in the higher terrain across interior Jamaica and western Cuba," Adkins said.
The strongest winds will be along and just to the east of where the center of this storm tracks, and wind gusts of 60-70 mph with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 80 mph are expected across western Cuba. This can lead to downed power lines, fallen trees and damage to weaker structures.
Delta’s closeness to Gamma might also ultimately determine where it will go after emerging in the Gulf of Mexico.
It is possible that we could see a Fujiwhara effect between Gamma and Delta. The Fujiwhara effect is when two tropical systems moving in such close proximity of each other that they begin to swirl around their common center. This can force either tropical system to temporarily change course.
Even factoring in the Fujiwhara effect, the new depression in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to bring its tropical moisture northward into the United States late in the week.
The path of this tropical system will send a plume of tropical moisture into the United States Gulf Coast later this week, forecasters say.
"Residents across the Gulf coast from southeast Texas to Florida should be prepared for a potential hurricane landfall at the end of the week or early next weekend," Adkins said.
The mainly dry weather that has held along the central Gulf Coast thus far in October will be replaced with heavy, tropical downpours late in the week and next weekend.
The exact track of the tropical feature will determine where the heaviest rain will fall. But all the locations along the Gulf Coast from Houston, Texas to Tampa, Florida, have been impacted by land-falling tropical systems already this season.
Some landfalls have been more recent, like Hurricane Sally that made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on Sept. 16, in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Less than a week later, Tropical Storm Beta made landfall on the Matagorda Peninsula of southeastern Texas, near the Texas-Louisiana border. Both systems brought drenching rainfall and flooding.
As such, residents along the entirety of the United States Gulf Coast should continue to check back with AccuWeather as forecasters monitor this tropical feature. A change in track could shift the area of greatest flood threat, and a change in intensity could bring damaging winds to the Gulf Coast beaches.
Should this system make landfall along the Gulf Coast as currently projected, it would be the tenth named storm to do so in the mainland U.S. this year, setting yet another record in this historic Atlantic hurricane season. 2020 has already tied 1916 for nine land-falling tropical systems in the U.S.
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A storm nearing the U.S. Gulf Coast also has the potential to disrupt natural gas and oil production in that area, perhaps for several days depending on the forward speed of the tropical feature.
Tropical season in the Atlantic Basin officially ends on Nov. 30, but climatologically, the number of named tropical systems in the basin usually drops off significantly during the month of November.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo