Storm watch for TD 13 in effect for Antigua and Barbuda, St. Maarten, and St. Kitts and Nevis
TD 13 expected to develop into Tropical Storm Laura
A tropical storm watch is in effect for Tropical Depression 13 (TD 13) on some Caribbean islands, according to the latest advisory of the National Hurricane Center (NHC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
These are the countries of Saba and St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Anguilla.
A tropical storm watch is placed when ideal conditions of a tropical storm are possible within an area, generally within 48 hours.
The Virgin Islands, as well as Puerto Rico are also advised to monitor the track of TD 13 in the coming days.
TD 13 expected to develop into Tropical Storm Laura during the day Thursday. It is also expected to move along a fairly quick west-northwest track over the next several days, approaching the southeastern Bahamas during the weekend.
“Regardless of development, gusty wind conditions and heavy rainfall are expected over parts of the local area from late Friday,” the Meteorological Department of St. Maarten said in its latest forecast.
The NHC has also issued an advisory on Tropical Depression 14 this morning, which is over the central Caribbean and moving west.
In light of this, the government of Honduras has issued a tropical storm watch from the Honduras/Nicaragua border westward to Punta Castilla and for the Bay Ilslands of Honduras.
It will be a race to see which tropical depression may reach tropical storm strength first with 39 mph winds. The next names on the 2020 hurricane list are Laura, Marco and Nana.
Record-breaker storm for 2020?
In a report by Palm Beach Post, should the weather system turn into Tropical Storm Laura in the next few days, “it would likely break another record for the 2020 hurricane season.”
“The current record holder is major Hurricane Luis, which formed on Aug. 29, 1995. If Laura beats out Luis, it would be the ninth storm this season to break a record for earliest formation,” the report said.
In a separate report of Sun Sentinel, hurricane experts at Colorado State University said in their latest forecast that they expect 24 named storms, 12 hurricanes, and five major hurricanes for 2020. “That’s up from its July 8 forecast, in which they predicted 19 to 20 named storms,” it stated.
If accurate, the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season will be the second-busiest on record, trailing behind the 2005 season, which hold spawned 28 storms in total, including Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma.