Tropical Depression Gonzalo to pass through Windward Islands
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Jul 24, 2020 3:54 PM EDT
The power of Tropical Storm Hanna hit Corpus Christi, Texas, before it even made landfall. On July 25, the storm's gale-force winds caused trees to buckle.
Forecasters say Gonzalo, despite being a compact tropical storm, will bring a period of gusty winds, downpours and rough seas to the southeastern Caribbean this weekend.
Gonzalo, already surrounded by dry air and dust from the Sahara Desert, will be attacked by increasing wind shear as it crosses islands into the southern Caribbean Sea. Strong wind shear, or increasing winds with altitude, can prevent a tropical system from forming or strengthening and can cause established tropical systems to weaken substantially.
"In the case of Gonzalo, because it is so small to begin with, wind shear and dry air could literally tear the storm apart in the coming days," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said.
The strong winds ultimately were too much for Gonzalo on Saturday afternoon, and Gonzalo lost enough wind strength to drop down to a tropical depression.
The islands most likely to be impacted by the compact storm are Tobago and Trinidad. Far northern Venezuela as well as portions of Grenada may also be grazed by the impacts of Gonzolo.
"The primary threats for Trinidad and Tobago, will be heavy rain and gusty winds," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
AccuWeather Local StormMax™ winds of 60 mph (97 km/h) are predicted, and winds of that magnitude are strong enough to knock over trees, cause minor property damage and lead to sporadic power outages.
Some locally gusty squalls are expected to occur farther away from the center, but these are likely to be more sparse and sporadic.
Gonzalo is expected to be less than 1 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes over the Windward Islands and South America.
Gonzolo's westerly course will take the storm rather close to the large landmass of South America, which is a big area of wind resistance.
Bathers and boaters should avoid the ocean waters until the storm has passed. Enough downpours can occur on some of the southern Windward Islands to lead to flash flooding and mudslides. A general rainfall of 2-4 inches (50-100 mm) is still expected with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 6 inches (150 mm) across Trinidad and northern Venezuela.
Interests in the Caribbean should continue to monitor the progress of Gonzalo with the low chance that the storm could hold together while moving on a west-northwest path into next week.
The Atlantic hurricane season has spawned eight tropical depressions, all eight of which organized further into tropical storms as of Friday. Several storms this season have been record setters the basin, with Hanna being the most recent to clinch a new record.
Tropical Depression Eight strengthened enough to be named Tropical Storm Hanna in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday evening, July 23, becoming the earliest "H" storm in recorded history. The previous record was Harvey from Aug. 3, 2005. Gonzalo had developed two days prior to the previous record for the "G" named storm in the Atlantic, beating out Gert from 2005.
Three tropical storms that proceeded Gonzalo -- Cristobal, Edouard and Fay -- had also been the earliest storms of their respective letters in the Atlantic. Cristobal beat out Tropical Storm Colin, which developed on June 5, 2016, whereas Edouard and Fay both formed earlier than previous record holders from the historic 2005 season. Dolly was the second-earliest "D" named storm ever in the basin.
Arthur and Bertha, as well as Dolly, formed in the same near-coast waters of the eastern United States this season. Both Arthur and Bertha formed in May, prior even to the official start of hurricane season on June 1.
AccuWeather is projecting the busy nature of the season to continue with up to 20 named tropical storms, seven to 11 hurricanes and four to six major hurricanes -- Category 3 or higher.
Three U.S. landfalls are already in the books for 2020 -- and the heart of the hurricane season does not occur until around Sept. 11. Stay up-to-date with the latest tropical news by visiting the AccuWeather hurricane center.
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 Depression Gonzalo to pass through Windward Islands
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Jul 24, 2020 3:54 PM EDT
The power of Tropical Storm Hanna hit Corpus Christi, Texas, before it even made landfall. On July 25, the storm's gale-force winds caused trees to buckle.
Forecasters say Gonzalo, despite being a compact tropical storm, will bring a period of gusty winds, downpours and rough seas to the southeastern Caribbean this weekend.
Gonzalo, already surrounded by dry air and dust from the Sahara Desert, will be attacked by increasing wind shear as it crosses islands into the southern Caribbean Sea. Strong wind shear, or increasing winds with altitude, can prevent a tropical system from forming or strengthening and can cause established tropical systems to weaken substantially.
"In the case of Gonzalo, because it is so small to begin with, wind shear and dry air could literally tear the storm apart in the coming days," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said.
The strong winds ultimately were too much for Gonzalo on Saturday afternoon, and Gonzalo lost enough wind strength to drop down to a tropical depression.
The islands most likely to be impacted by the compact storm are Tobago and Trinidad. Far northern Venezuela as well as portions of Grenada may also be grazed by the impacts of Gonzolo.
"The primary threats for Trinidad and Tobago, will be heavy rain and gusty winds," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
AccuWeather Local StormMax™ winds of 60 mph (97 km/h) are predicted, and winds of that magnitude are strong enough to knock over trees, cause minor property damage and lead to sporadic power outages.
Some locally gusty squalls are expected to occur farther away from the center, but these are likely to be more sparse and sporadic.
Gonzalo is expected to be less than 1 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes over the Windward Islands and South America.
Gonzolo's westerly course will take the storm rather close to the large landmass of South America, which is a big area of wind resistance.
Bathers and boaters should avoid the ocean waters until the storm has passed. Enough downpours can occur on some of the southern Windward Islands to lead to flash flooding and mudslides. A general rainfall of 2-4 inches (50-100 mm) is still expected with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 6 inches (150 mm) across Trinidad and northern Venezuela.
Interests in the Caribbean should continue to monitor the progress of Gonzalo with the low chance that the storm could hold together while moving on a west-northwest path into next week.
Related:
The Atlantic hurricane season has spawned eight tropical depressions, all eight of which organized further into tropical storms as of Friday. Several storms this season have been record setters the basin, with Hanna being the most recent to clinch a new record.
Tropical Depression Eight strengthened enough to be named Tropical Storm Hanna in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday evening, July 23, becoming the earliest "H" storm in recorded history. The previous record was Harvey from Aug. 3, 2005. Gonzalo had developed two days prior to the previous record for the "G" named storm in the Atlantic, beating out Gert from 2005.
Three tropical storms that proceeded Gonzalo -- Cristobal, Edouard and Fay -- had also been the earliest storms of their respective letters in the Atlantic. Cristobal beat out Tropical Storm Colin, which developed on June 5, 2016, whereas Edouard and Fay both formed earlier than previous record holders from the historic 2005 season. Dolly was the second-earliest "D" named storm ever in the basin.
Arthur and Bertha, as well as Dolly, formed in the same near-coast waters of the eastern United States this season. Both Arthur and Bertha formed in May, prior even to the official start of hurricane season on June 1.
AccuWeather is projecting the busy nature of the season to continue with up to 20 named tropical storms, seven to 11 hurricanes and four to six major hurricanes -- Category 3 or higher.
Three U.S. landfalls are already in the books for 2020 -- and the heart of the hurricane season does not occur until around Sept. 11. Stay up-to-date with the latest tropical news by visiting the AccuWeather hurricane center.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo