Current:Home > InvestHurricane season still swirling: Rafael could threaten US later this week -Wealth Momentum Network
Hurricane season still swirling: Rafael could threaten US later this week
View
Date:2025-04-14 16:19:25
Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on the next possible tropical system that could impact the U.S. on Sunday, Nov. 3. For the latest news, view our story for Monday, Nov. 4.
A November surprise?
As Americans focus their attention on Tuesday’s election, weather experts are keeping a close eye on a low-pressure system in the western Caribbean that figures to impact the U.S. later this week, though to what extent remains uncertain.
The system, now known as potential tropical cyclone 18, prompted the governments of the Cayman Islands and Jamaica to issue a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning, respectively, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday. Cuba is also expected to be impacted.
AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said 18 may strengthen into a tropical storm in the next day, earning the name Rafael, and could gain hurricane status if it drifts west of Jamaica instead of striking it flush in the coming days.
Regardless, he expects Rafael to eventually be felt somewhere along the central and eastern Gulf Coast, and he urged residents of those areas to be on alert.
"Even if it’s encountering cooler water and wind shear and starting to lose intensity as it comes northward, you’re still going to be talking about a significant wind and rain event," Pydynowski told USA TODAY. “There are still going to be impacts even if it’s a tropical storm."
The National Hurricane Center said in its 10 p.m. ET advisory on Sunday that the system is expected to bring heavy rain across portions of the western Caribbean, including Jamaica and the southern and western portions of Cuba through mid-week. Flooding and mudslides are also possible in parts of Jamaica and Cuba.
Heavy rainfall could then spread northward into Florida and other areas of the southeast U.S., according to the hurricane center. Forecasters advised residents in Cuba and the Florida Keys to monitor the system into the week.
A highly damaging hurricane season
Those are worrisome words in a busy hurricane season that has brought enormous devastation from the likes of Beryl, Helene and Milton, among other destructive storms. The U.S. has been hit by five hurricanes this season, killing at least 300 people and causing around $130 billion in economic losses.
Only four hurricanes on record have made landfall in the U.S. mainland on the penultimate month of the calendar, but the most recent one – Nicole – hit Florida a mere two years ago. The season runs through Nov. 30.
Much remains unknown about the current system, its track and chances for intensifying later in the week. The NHC said an Air Force Hurricane Hunter plane was gathering more information Sunday.
But Pydynowski pointed out conditions for strengthening are favorable in the Caribbean, including low wind shear and slightly above-average temperatures in the mid-80s.
The big question for the U.S. is what happens after the storm moves north of western Cuba and into the Gulf of Mexico, possibly by Wednesday. It could initially intensify before encountering harsh wind shear and somewhat cooler water as it gets closer to American soil, which should weaken it.
“It’s tough to get all the way to hurricane status to hit the central Gulf Coast this time of year, but certainly it can happen,’’ Pydynowski said. “The water is still in the upper 70s, it’s still warm. Especially if the storm is moving quickly, so it doesn’t spend a lot of time over cooler water.’’
For residents of the southeastern coast, especially in hurricane-battered Florida, it would be much preferable if the storm slows down and cooler water prevails.
Signs of trouble still lurking
The hurricane center said a trough of low pressure near the southern Bahamas has produced showers and thunderstorms but will likely be absorbed by the evolving storm that may become Rafael by late Monday.
But there are still signs of further activity in the northern Caribbean and perhaps the far southwestern Atlantic around the Bahamas, Pydynowski said, underscoring that the season doesn’t end for nearly another four weeks.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
veryGood! (23194)
Related
- 'Most Whopper
- Global hacker investigated by federal agents in Puerto Rico pleads guilty in IPStorm case
- Anchorage adds more shelter beds after unusually high amount of snow and record outdoor deaths
- Eva Longoria Debuts Chic Layered Bob in Must-See Transformation
- Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
- Albania proposes a draft law on a contentious deal with Italy to jointly process asylum applications
- US extends sanctions waiver allowing Iraq to buy electricity from Iran
- Former CEO at center of fake Basquiats scandal countersues museum, claiming he is being scapegoated
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Dozens of babies' lives at risk as incubators at Gaza's Al Shifa hospital run out of power, Hamas-run health ministry says
Ranking
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- A day after Britain’s prime minister fired her, Suella Braverman accuses him of being a weak leader
- UK experts recommend chickenpox shot for kids for the first time, decades after other countries
- ESPN launches sportsbook in move to cash in on sports betting boom
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Courteney Cox honors Matthew Perry with tribute to Monica and Chandler's 'Friends' love story
- An ethnic resistance group in northern Myanmar says an entire army battalion surrendered to it
- A man arrested over death of a hockey player whose neck was cut with skate blade is released on bail
Recommendation
Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
The European Union is struggling to produce and send the ammunition it promised to Ukraine
California program to lease land under freeways faces scrutiny after major Los Angeles fire
No one will miss the National Zoo pandas more than Antwon Hines, their former mascot
New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
NTSB at scene of deadly Ohio interstate crash involving busload of high school students
Mali’s leader says military has seized control of a rebel stronghold in the country’s north
Senegalese opposition leader Sonko sent back to prison after weeks in hospital during hunger strike