Tropical storm Victor forms, is expected to become hurricane

TAMPA, Florida (WFLA) – With two months to go until the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, the tropics remain active – Tropical Storm Victor formed on Wednesday as Hurricane Sam continued to rage and forecasters were tracking two more disruptions.

Tropical storm Victor

Tropical Depression 20 formed over the Far Eastern Tropical Atlantic on Wednesday and later strengthened into Tropical Storm Victor. According to the National Hurricane Center, the system is located about 640 miles south of the Cabo Verde Islands and moving from west to northwest at about 21 miles per hour.

Victor currently has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and is expected to increase steadily. The latest forecast from the NHC is that Victor will turn into a hurricane in the coming days.

Currently, Victor is not expected to affect the United States.

Hurricane Sam

Hurricane Sam remains strong and remains a Category 4 hurricane with 130 maximum sustained winds as it churns the Atlantic. Sam’s intensity is expected to fluctuate in the coming days, according to the NHC, but the storm is expected to remain a major hurricane through the end of this week.

Sam is located about 405 miles east-northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands on Wednesday morning and moving northwest at about 9 miles per hour. The storm is expected to pass “far east-northeast” of the northern leeward islands by Wednesday evening before turning north by Friday.

Other areas to watch

Two faults will also be monitored for a possible development in the coming days.

The first is a low pressure valley that creates disorganized showers and thunderstorms several hundred miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. It is forecast to migrate west-northwest across the Atlantic in the coming days. Since Wednesday, the NHC has considered the development to be less likely due to the interaction with a larger low pressure area.

The second area observed is a low pressure area associated with the remains of Tropical Storm Peter. According to the NHC, the disruption is causing disorganized showers and thunderstorms several hundred miles south of the Newfoundland coast. The system is currently moving northeast towards what the NHC describes as the “region of very high winds from the upper level”. A significant development is not to be expected due to these winds.

looking ahead

Now that Victor has been founded, there is only one name left – Wanda – on this year’s list of names. Instead of moving to the Greek alphabet this year, any additional storms will be named from an alternate list selected by the World Meteorological Organization.