MIAMI — Tropical Storm Bill strengthened again this morning as it continued its northern journey away from the United States, the National Hurricane Center said in its 11 a.m. update.
The storm is expected to be short-lived as it heads into cooler waters, meanwhile, the NHC is keeping its eyes on two other storms with tropical potential.
First, Bill is moving northeast at a fast 38 mph, and is about 420 miles southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts and 295 miles south-southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, according to the 11 a.m. update. Bill has maximum sustained winds of 60 mph, the NHC said. Its tropical-storm-force winds also reach 90 miles from its center.
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring three systems including Tropical Storm Bill and two other systems with tropical potential. (The National Hurricane Center)
Bill quickly first formed Monday morning as a tropical depression just off the coast of North Carolina. By Monday night it had reached tropical storm status with maximum sustained winds greater than 39 mph. The NHC expects little change in Bill’s strength and begins weakening by Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Bill is forecast to become an extratropical storm Tuesday night and dissipate Wednesday.
Next, disorganized showers located over the Bay of Campeche and west of the Yucatan Peninsula are associated with a low-pressure area, said Stacy Stewart, an NHC specialist. Slow development is expected in the next two days as its forecast to drift toward the center of the Gulf of Mexico, according to the NHC’s 8 a.m. update. A tropical depression is likely The hurricane center gave the system a 20 percent chance of forming into a tropical depression or storm in the next 48 hours and a 70 percent chance of doing so over the next five days. Heavy rainfall is forecast over Central America and southern Mexico over the next several days.
Also, a tropical wave is being monitored several hundred miles south of the Cabo Verde Islands, Stewart said. Showers and thunderstorms associated with the system have become more disorganized, the NHC said in its 8 a.m. update. The development of this system is expected to be slow, and upper-level winds and dry air are expected to limit its chances of becoming a tropical depression or storm. It has a 10 percent chance of developing into a tropical depression or storm in the next two to five days.
If either of the latter two systems develops into a tropical storm, the first will receive the name, Claudette. If they both develop, the slower of the two would be named Danny.
