Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
Increasing flash flood threat looms in Texas as heat scorches recovery zone. Click for details Chevron right

Columbus, OH

70°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

70°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Weather News

Is the tropical Atlantic, including the Gulf of Mexico, about to spring to life?

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Published Aug 14, 2019 2:20 PM EDT | Updated Sep 4, 2019 3:33 PM EDT

Copied

This story has been updated and replaced. For the latest information, follow this link.

AccuWeather meteorologists are monitoring the potential for changing conditions in the Atlantic basin that may lead to an uptick in tropical activity, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico over the next couple of weeks.

"Indications are that inhibiting factors for tropical development, such as dry air, dust and strong wind shear over the Atlantic basin will start to relax during the week of Aug. 18-25," according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski.

There has been an extensive amount of dry air and wind shear, with flare-ups of Saharan dust in recent weeks. This pattern is anticipated to continue into this weekend.

Atlantic into this weekend

While this is not unusual during the middle of the summer, we are entering the period of the summer when moist air becomes more plentiful and the amount of dust and wind shear tends to diminish.

Tropical disturbances, or waves, move off the coast of Africa every few days during the summer and into the autumn. This is called the Cabo Verde season, which is named for the group of islands just off the west coast of Africa.

Atlantic wide shot Thursday

This image taken on Thursday, August 15, 2019, shows the tropical Atlantic with part of North and Central America to the left and Africa to the far right. The brown color in the middle of the image, just north of South America is dust from the Sahara Desert. The feature of interest for next week is barely recognizable with patchy aimless clouds to the right of the dust area. (NOAA / Satellite)

NOAA

While waters are sufficiently warm enough to support development in this area from midsummer on, dry air, dust and wind shear keep most of these disturbances from developing into tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes.

"How fast these inhibiting factors relax next week will determine if and when a particular disturbance develops," Kottlowski said.

RELATED:

What is wind shear and how does it impact hurricanes, other tropical cyclones?
Drenching storms to raise flash flood risk in southern US
Tropical disturbance southeast of Hawaii bears watching during mid-August
Experts share tips on how to prepare children for hurricanes

"For example, determining the amount of wind shear in a path of a potential tropical system several days out is challenging," Kottlowski said.

Like other factors in the weather, wind shear can vary significantly from day to day and shift over time as a budding tropical system approaches.

The disturbance, and others will continue to drift westward across the tropical Atlantic in the coming days.

Steering breezes are likely to cause these features to turn more to the northwest and north as they near Central America.

Tropical Development Next Week

Such a pattern may allow the feature to travel from the northwestern Caribbean, across Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, into the western Gulf of Mexico and perhaps toward the western or northern Gulf coast to end next week.

"If the wind shear drops off in the northwestern Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico, the door may open for development later next week," Kottlowski said.

Waters are sufficiently warm in the region to support development should the shear ease up.

Interests from Belize and eastern Mexico to the western and northern Gulf coast in the United States, including petroleum operations in the Gulf of Mexico, should monitor the progress of this feature.

In absence of any organized feature, a surge in drenching downpours and locally gusty thunderstorms is possible late next week along the western and/or central Gulf coast.

After an active Atlantic hurricane season in 2018, forecasters are predicting 2019 to be a near - or slightly above - normal season

While the hurricane season extends from June 1 through Nov. 30, the period from the last part of August through October marks the prime time for tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic basin.

The sharpest increase in tropical storm and hurricane frequency occurs from Aug. 20 through Sept. 11.

AccuWeather is predicting a total of 12-14 named storms with five to seven hurricanes and two to four major hurricanes for the 2019 season.

2019 Atlantic hurricane season

AccuWeather meteorologists estimate an additional one to three named-storm landfalls in the U.S. for the balance of the season, following Hurricane Barry from the middle of July.

Download the free AccuWeather app to stay alert of tropical and severe weather advisories. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

Report a Typo

Weather News

Weather News

President Trump visits flood-ravaged Kerrville as search continues

Jul. 12, 2025
Hurricane

Tropical trouble in the Atlantic may brew into next week

Jul. 13, 2025
Weather News

Flash flooding swamps Iowa Quad Cities as storms unleash damaging rain

Jul. 12, 2025
video

Before-and-after pictures show devastation caused by Texas floods

Jul. 9, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather Forecasts

Thunderstorms fuel increasing flash flooding threat in Texas

7 minutes ago

Weather News

Engine fuel supply cut just before Air India jet crash, report says

18 hours ago

Weather News

Texas Hill Country: Before, during and after the flood

19 hours ago

Weather News

Flash flooding swamps Iowa Quad Cities as storms unleash damaging rain

16 hours ago

Severe Weather

Rounds of severe storms to rattle, drench central US

14 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Health

How can families handle new anxieties around summer camp?

1 day ago

Weather News

Viral pygmy hippo Moo Deng celebrates her first birthday

1 day ago

Weather News

Orcas are bringing humans gifts of food – but why?

1 day ago

Business

Samsung is looking into more AI devices potentially including earrings...

1 day ago

Weather News

The US has a plan to breed millions of flies and drop them from planes

2 days ago

AccuWeather Weather News Is the tropical Atlantic, including the Gulf of Mexico, about to spring to life?
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...