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TROPICAL Storm Erin is set to become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season as it races west with winds getting faster by the hour.
As of Tuesday morning, the storm is churning in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, moving at 23 mph, with winds blowing up to 45 mph.
Erin is supposed to inch toward the Caribbean later this week as it is set to strengthen into the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025 by late Thursday.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.
Over the upcoming weekend, the storm is expected to become the first major hurricane of the year, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Major hurricanes include all storms that are category 3 intensity and above, whether or not they touch down on land.
Meteorologists are having a tough time estimating whether or not Erin will impact the US.
Some forecast models predict the storm will stay above the Caribbean and turn north before the Bahamas.
That potential path would leave the US mostly untouched by Erin, but it’s still too early to forecast.
The most recent advisory warned that the storm is moving closer to the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the northern Leeward Islands over the weekend.
At around 11 am on Tuesday, Erin was centered about 820 miles west of the Cape Verde islands.
The severe weather caused floods that killed eight people, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
As Erin moves west at over 20 mph, it will stay over cool waters until around Thursday.
Then, when it’s expected to pass over warmer water and less changes in wind speed, it’ll have a better environment to intensify, the NHC said.
Earlier this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said there might be more Atlantic hurricanes this season because of warmer ocean temperatures.
NOAA predicted between 13-19 storms by November 30.
What is a hurricane and how do they form?
A HURRICANE is another name for a tropical cyclone – a powerful storm that forms over warm ocean waters near the equator.
Those arising in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific are called hurricanes, while those in the western Pacific and Indian Ocean are dubbed typhoons or cyclones.
North of the equator they spin anticlockwise because of the rotation of the Earth, however, they turn the opposite way in the southern hemisphere.
Cyclones are like giant weather engines fuelled by water vapor as it evaporates from the sea.
Warm, moist air rises away from the surface, creating a low-pressure system that sucks in air from surrounding areas – which in turn is warmed by the ocean.
As the vapour rises it cools and condenses into swirling bands of cumulonimbus storm clouds.
The system grows and spins faster, sucking in more air and feeding off the energy in seawater that has been warmed by the sun.
At the center, a calm “eye” of the storm is created where cooled air sinks towards the ultra-low pressure zone below, surrounded by spiraling winds of warm air rising.
The faster the wind, the lower the air pressure at the center, and the storm grows stronger and stronger.
Tropical cyclones usually weaken when they hit land as they are no longer fed by evaporation from the warm sea.
But they often move far inland – dumping vast amounts of rain and causing devastating wind damage – before the “fuel” runs out and the storm peters out.
Hurricanes can also cause storm surges when the low air pressure sucks the sea level higher than normal, swamping low-lying coasts.
HURRICANE HENRIETTE
Meanwhile, in the Pacific, Hurricane Henriette is looming on the horizon.
Henriette’s winds have been hitting over 75 mph.
As of Monday night, Henriette was around 730 miles north of Honolulu, weather officials said.
However, the NHC said the storm will probably get weaker over the next few days.
Henriette is expected to turn into a post-tropical cyclone by early Thursday.
It’s not expected to reach land.
