Tropical Storm Dexter forms in Atlantic, may lead a flurry of August activity

AccuWeather meteorologists have more than Dexter on their radar as far as tropical concerns with multiple areas being closely monitored in the Atlantic basin, including close to the United States.

Tropical Storm Dexter formed over the weekend a few hundred miles off the Carolina coast, and AccuWeather meteorologists warn that there are additional areas that may develop in the coming days and weeks, including some areas close to the United States.

Tropical Storm Dexter

Dexter evolved from a low pressure area along a stalled front just off the southern Atlantic coast. This was the same front that brought flash flooding to the mid-Atlantic last Thursday and parts of the Southeast states on Friday and into last weekend.

Dexter is several hundred miles northeast of Bermuda, and the islands avoided a direct hit from the tropical storm early this week. Dexter is primarily a concern for shipping and cruise interests and is forecast to move northeastward over progressively cooler waters of the North Atlantic. The storm should lose some tropical qualities later this week.

"Dexter, along with developing easterly breezes around high pressure near the Northeast states, will create locally rough surf and periodic strong rip currents along the Atlantic coast beaches this week from Florida to Massachusetts," AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said. "Rough surf and choppy seas will also occur around Bermuda."

It is possible that Dexter may approach the northern part of the British Isles or Iceland this weekend as a tropical rainstorm with locally gusty winds and rough seas.

Next tropical threat

The area just off the southern Atlantic coast could yield another tropical depression or storm before the end of this week. The same old front that helped give birth to Dexter is hanging around, leading to showers and thunderstorms bubbling up over the Gulf Stream. Slowly, these may coalesce and develop a circulation over the nearby Atlantic.

“AccuWeather has upgraded the zone off the Southeast coast to a medium risk of tropical development potential. It has a limited-time window to develop as it moves over the Gulf Stream," DaSilva said. Steering breezes with the new area of interest will be different than Dexter and somewhat similar to Chantal from a month ago.

"Heavy rain is expected across parts of the Southeast this week, regardless of official tropical development because of the old front," DaSilva said.

"Then, late this week and this weekend, steering breezes will guide any low pressure area and its downpours and gusty thunderstorms onshore in the Carolinas," DaSilva added.

The ongoing pattern will disrupt outdoor plans and travel without a tropical storm. However, if a new tropical storm forms and moves inland, a more serious flash flood risk may evolve in portions of the Carolinas, Georgia and Virginia.

More trouble brewing for the Gulf, Atlantic?

A thousand or more miles to the southwest, a tropical wave of low pressure that is traveling west-northwestward over the northern islands of the Caribbean this week will continue to move along.

By early next week, this wave will enter the Gulf, where it could evolve into a tropical depression or storm and has now been re-assigned a low development potential.

Elsewhere over the Atlantic, a robust tropical wave will soon move off the coast of Africa.

"As this tropical wave moves along, it will have some hurdles from dry air, cool water and wind shear to get through, but we have assigned a high risk of it developing into a tropical depression or storm from later this week to next week," DaSilva said.

There is a high potential for this area of interest to evolve into a long-track tropical storm or hurricane.

"Its movement and how close to the U.S. it gets toward the middle of the month will depend on the shape and strength of high pressure near Bermuda and the jet stream pattern in the eastern U.S.," DaSilva said.

"Should the high weaken, the budding tropical storm could turn north and avoid the U.S. and perhaps the islands of the northern Caribbean," DaSilva explained. "Should the high stay strong, it could force the budding tropical storm in close to the U.S. toward the middle of the month."

The next two names on the list of tropical storms for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season are Erin and Fernand.

The time when tropical activity tends to ramp up is at the doorstep. People in coastal areas of the U.S., or residents of or those with travel plans to the Caribbean islands, are encouraged to closely monitor Atlantic tropical activity.

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