We are now 15 days past the statistical peak of hurricane season, but the Atlantic basin remains active with two named storms.
Neither storm is a major threat to the United States, but hurricane season runs through the end of November, so we'll continue to keep a close eye on any potential tropical systems.
So let's meet the storms...
Hurricane Lorenzo:
The most impressive storm on the board is Lorenzo. Lorenzo is a category 4 hurricane as of Thursday morning with winds of 130 miles per hour.
Thankfully, Lorenzo will be a fish storm, and will pose no threat to the U.S. as it turns northeast over the open Atlantic.
With that being said, Lorenzo is still expected to maintain major hurricane status through the weekend.
Tropical Storm Karen:
The second named storm in the Atlantic is Karen. Karen is a low-end tropical storm with no well-defined center; it's not nearly as organized as Lorenzo.
Karen is expected to continue its northeasterly movement through tomorrow as it is being steered by a ridge of high pressure in the central Atlantic.
However, by the weekend that ridge will break down, and a stronger ridge will form over the western Atlantic. This may result in the system doing a loop and turning westerly over the weekend into early next week.
The good news is the environmental conditions will likely not be very suitable for tropical activity during this time frame. Karen will likely weaken into a tropical depression or remnant low by Sunday, and at this point is not expected to be a major issue for the United States.
Hurricane Climatology:
Despite the fact we are now moving past the statistical peak of hurricane season, it's important to keep in mind the season runs through the end of November.
There is also a secondary peak in tropical activity around October 20. So we'll keep a close eye on any tropical waves over the next two months or so, and if anything looks like it could be an issue for central Georgia, we'll let you know.
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