Tropical update: Erratic Philippe & TS Rina is born

We continue to monitor the same two tropical systems over the Atlantic. One weakens, another strengthens. Where are they going? Let’s discuss.

Tropical Storm Philippe continues to weaken. Due to its unstable and erratic status, the path of the storm is also a bit erratic for the next few days. Thus, the storm will continue to weaken, remember that this is in terms of maximum sustained winds. Still, northern portions of the Lesser Antilles including Puerto Rico could have some showers moving through the area and the seas could be a bit rough for the rest of this week and into the weekend. We do not expect major impacts from this system across the northeastern Caribbean islands, but we do expect showers and some intermittent storms.

The next tropical wave labeled Invest 91 has been officially named Rina this Thursday morning. It is moving northwest, a little faster than Philippe, and is currently located between the Cape Verde Islands and the Lesser Antilles arc. It is in a favorable area for it to continue organizing and strengthening, although it is expected to continue as a tropical storm. It has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph on Thursday and is expected to remain a long distance from the northwest Caribbean, without directly affecting the islands. Starting on Saturday it will move faster and enter a less favorable area for strengthening.

This system is moving northwest and may very well be stealing much of Philippe's energy over the next few days as Phillips. But as this area strengthens, we can also expect the sea to begin to become more agitated. Boaters near the east of the Leeward Islands should be aware of marine forecasts for the area.

Our team of meteorologists at Weather & Radar will keep an eye on what happens in the tropics over the next few days. Remember the hurricane season officially ends on November 30 and it is during October that there are usually more tropical systems developing near land due to fronts leaving North America. The extremes of these fronts usually leave some energy behind, which could sustain tropical development very close to the US or western Caribbean coasts.

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