While November marks the final month of the Atlantic hurricane season, AccuWeather forecasters say the season will refuse to end quietly. A tropical rainstorm located just north of the Caribbean can strengthen and become better organized this week before heading for the Bahamas, the United States and even Atlantic Canada.
When it formed on Saturday just south of Puerto Rico, the tropical rainstorm deluged the island with several inches of heavy rainfall. On a northward trajectory, the tropical rainstorm crossed from the Caribbean Sea into the far southwestern Atlantic Ocean early Sunday.
In the coming days, forecasters warn this tropical rainstorm will become better organized and likely become a tropical storm as it takes a winding track toward the Bahamas and storm-weary Florida. The next tropical storm to form in the Atlantic basin will be given the name Nicole.
News of yet another potential tropical hit is likely highly unwelcome across Florida as a large swath of the state continues to recover from the devastation wrought by deadly Hurricane Ian in late September. Before this latest tropical threat approaches the U.S. coast, it will spend much of the early week taking a gradual northwest turn over the southwestern Atlantic, with impacts lingering for several Caribbean islands.
“The tropical rainstorm will bring additional rainfall of 1-2 inches (25-50 mm) to parts of the Lesser Antilles into early this week, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 15 inches (380 mm) in the Leeward Islands,” explained AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty. Additional rainfall, when combined with the amount of rainfall that has already fallen, signal that flooding and mudslides remain a concern for the region.
As the rainstorm takes on more of a westward track later Tuesday, it is likely to gain more organization and grab the 14th name of the 2022 Atlantic season. By midweek, forecasters expect the storm will track across the northern Bahamas with its outer rain bands creeping into Florida. “Rain will move into the Bahamas and Florida around the middle of the week and flash flooding will be a concern,” added Douty. (SOURCE)
