Tropics: Tropical Wave near Africa and Hurricane Enrique

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Things close to home remain calm in the tropics. In fact, we only need to look way out to the east off the coast of Africa where an Easterly Wave is pushing west along the tropical easterlies.  

This is not uncommon for this time of year and typically storms this far east struggle to develop this early in the season due to wind shear and cooler sea surface temperatures over the Atlantic. In short, it’s something I would not lose sleep over but we will continue to watch it at this time. 

Meanwhile in the Eastern Pacific Tropical Storm Warnings are in place as Hurricane Enrique tracks along the west coast of Mexico. The storm is not expected to make landfall. 

Hurricane season is here and the time to prepare is now. Make sure you have had conversations with your loved ones about what you would do if a storm were to threaten.

This year, NOAA released the new seasonal averages for the Atlantic basin. According to the 30-year data from 1991 to 2020, the new averages include 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes. The previous Atlantic storm averages, based on the period from 1981 to 2010, were 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes. The averages from 1951-1980 , were 11 named storms, 5 hurricanes, and 1 major.

The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30.