MIAMI – Tropical Storm Arlene, the first named system in the current Atlantic Basin storm season moving south across the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to weaken this Saturday and downgrade to depression status. .
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported in its most recent bulletin that Arlene is moving toward the south at about 9 miles per hour (15 km/h) and a gradual turn toward the southeast is expected over the next 24 hours.
Arlene is located about 165 miles (265 km) west of Dry Tortugas National Park, a group of small islands located 113 kilometers west of Key West, in the Florida Keys.
The system is carrying maximum sustained winds near 40 miles per hour (65 km/h) with stronger gusts.
The NHC notes that a weakening and Arlene is expected to become a tropical depression in the next few hours and the remnant of a system by the end of Saturday before finally dissipating on Sunday.
According to the latest NHC bulletin, tropical storm force winds extend up to 70 miles (110 km) from the center of the system, which is centered near latitude 24.5 north and longitude 85.5 west.
There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect for this system.
Rainfall amounts expected to drop from Arlene over the next several hours are 1 to 2 inches, with locally higher amounts of up to 5 inches through tonight in portions of the southern Florida Peninsula.
Heavy rain could result in isolated impacts from flash, urban, and small stream flooding in that area of Florida.
The official hurricane season began this Thursday in the Atlantic basin with forecasts indicating that the number of cyclones may be within the average and the unknown of how the presence of the El Niño climate phenomenon will affect it.
The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season will have at least 12 named storms, of which between 5 and 9 will become hurricanes, and at least one could be a major hurricane, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced on May 25. (NOAA) of the United States, when he predicted an “almost normal” season.
In 2022 there were 14 named storms in the Atlantic, of which Bonnie, Danielle, Earl, Fiona, Ian, Julia, Lisa, Martin and Nicole reached hurricane status.
Keep reading:
Mayors assure that Puerto Rico is not ready for a new hurricane season that began today