Subtropical Storm Don churns over the Atlantic
No tropical storm or depression had roamed the Atlantic Ocean since late June, but that changed on Friday morning with the formation of Subtropical Storm Don.
The Atlantic Ocean had remained quiet for weeks as expansive areas of Saharan dust and disruptive winds limit the opportunities for tropical systems to form. That lull came to an end Friday morning as an area of disturbed weather in the central Atlantic became better organized and was designated as Subtropical Storm Don by the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
A subtropical storm has features of both a tropical system and a non-tropical system.
Tropical Storm Cindy was the last named system to roam the waters of the Atlantic basin back in late June. Although Cindy did not bring direct impacts to land, the storm did contribute to an uptick in downpours across portions of the Leeward Islands, Bermuda and Atlantic Canada.
Don is well away from land, located 1,200 miles west of the Azores, a group of islands in the North Atlantic, as of Friday evening. The showers and thunderstorms associated with the feature became better organized early Friday morning, and it was upgraded to Subtropical Storm Don by the NHC.
"Direct impacts to land are not expected; however, interests in the Azores should be mindful of rough surf this weekend," AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex DaSilva said.
Don is expected to be short-lived given the cooler waters the system is expected to move over by the weekend. Those cooler waters should cause the system to quickly lose any wind intensity it may gain during its life span.
This image of Subtropical Storm Don, located over the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, was captured on Friday, July 14, 2023.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic basin, there were no other immediate areas of concern for tropical development. Dust plumes of various thickness levels will continue to stream off the coast of Africa, limiting the development of tropical waves that will continue to traverse from east to west in the southern part of the basin.
However, DaSilva noted that conditions may become more conducive for tropical development in this region during the latter part of July and especially during August.
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