ORLANDO, Fla. — Tropical Storm Kyle formed off the coast of the U.S. on Friday while Tropical Storm Josephine lost speed as it continues its western journey with an expectation of it beginning its northbound turn toward the upper Atlantic.
As of 5 p.m. EDT the National Hurricane Center said Kyle had formed about 185 miles southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, with 40 mph winds moving east-northeast away from the U.S. at 17 mph with tropical-force-storm winds extending out 80 miles.
“Slight strengthening is possible tonight and tomorrow. Kyle is forecast to become post-tropical by late Sunday or early Monday,” the NHC said.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Josephine saw some weakening of its maximum sustained winds, which decreased from 45 to 40 mph Friday morning, and also had tropical-storm force winds extending out 80 miles.
At 5 p.m. the storm was 460 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands moving west-northwest at 16 mph. On its current track, Tropical Storm Josephine is expected to turn northeast, away from Florida.
Models show Josephine steering clear of the Caribbean islands, but has it on a path directly to Bermuda – although the storm is forecast to become a tropical depression again by that point.
Josephine made its debut as a tropical storm Thursday morning in the mid-Atlantic as the earliest 10th named storm on record followed by Friday’s Kyle becoming the earliest 11th storm. Josephine upgraded from a tropical depression after convective patterns in the storm became more organized. Kyle skipped over the tropical depression phase and went straight to tropical storm status.
Southwesterly wind shear is predicted to meet Josephine on Friday and Saturday, eliminating its chances to grow stronger.
Two weather phenomena are occurring in Florida’s favor, and protecting it from tropical events. The first is what’s keeping the Sunshine State from living up to its name every afternoon: a large trough of pressure causing intense afternoon thunderstorms the last two weeks.
The second protective reason is the dry air from the Saharan Air Layer forecast to further lessen the storm’s power.
The Saharan Air Layer is a plume of beige dust that whips off the African continent every year and into the upper atmosphere, which then blows into the tropical Atlantic region. The dust acts as a hurricane shield to the area by absorbing moisture and disturbing the still air with wind shear. However, the SAL is expected to peak next week meaning less dry dust will be occupying the air.
The season has now seen 11 named storms, including two hurricanes plus the short-lived Tropical Depression 10. Typically, the tenth (and now 11th) named storms of the year are identified around mid- to late-October, said WOFL-TV meteorologist Glenn Richards. The average hurricane season has 12 named storms, but 2020 has proven it will not be an average season.
“It might be the highest it’s ever been in my 27-year career here in Central Florida,” Richards said. “And we’re only in the middle of August.”
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