Tropical Storm Florence – A First Look

The tropics are starting to get busy as Tropical Storm Florence is the latest tropical storm to develop during the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season.

The good news for coastal residents is that Tropical Storm Florence formed waaaaaaay out in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.  This storm is so far to the east that you see large portions of Africa on the satellite views instead of the Caribbean islands or United States.  Storms that develop that far to the east historically pose little to no threat to the continental U.S.

The latest advisory places Tropical Storm Florence about 415 miles west of the Cape Verde islands off the coast of Africa.  Florence is tracking to the west-northwest at 16 mph.  The tropical storm has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.

The official forecast from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, is calling for Tropical Storm Florence to continue with its movement to the west-northwest for the next few days.  There’s general consensus with the computer models for this forecast.  Tropical Storm Florence is expected to maintain its current strength for the next day or two before weakening from excessive wind shear.  Florence will most likely be downgraded to a tropical depression in a few days.

As it was previously stated, historically, tropical storms that form in the eastern Atlantic Ocean pose little to no threat to the United States and most of the Caribbean islands.  That lone storm on the map that ventured through the Gulf of Mexico and struck Texas was the infamous Galveston hurricane of 1900, a hurricane that killed around 8,000 people.

There are no watches or warnings associated with Tropical Storm Florence.  It’s too early to tell if Tropical Storm Florence is going to have any impact on the Caribbean islands, eastern U.S. coastline, or the islands of Bermuda.