Atlantic tropical activity to pick up this week following birth of Tropical Storm Fiona

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

August 17,2016; 7:44PM,EDT

 

 

Tropical Storm Fiona has developed in the Atlantic Ocean, west of the African coast, and another depression may follow in its wake this weekend.
After about 10 days of quiet conditions, the Atlantic came to life as Tropical Depression Six formed on Tuesday night, strengthening to become Tropical Storm Fiona on Wednesday afternoon. Hurricane Earl, which struck Belize earlier this month, was the last system to form prior to Fiona.

The projected path toward the central Atlantic would not take the system near any islands or large land mass through this weekend.
After a period of strengthening into this weekend, Fiona will encounter more hostile atmospheric conditions and should weaken, AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski stated.
There is another disturbance moving westward over Africa and it is well-organized at this time.
"The next disturbance will push off the African continent on Saturday or Sunday and may become a tropical system very soon after it emerges over the Atlantic," AccuWeather Meteorologist Evan Duffey said.

The stronger the system is while moving off the coast of Africa, the better the chance of overcoming dry air and disruptive winds in its path.
Early speculation on the path suggest this system could curve north prior to approaching the islands in the Caribbean Sea.
Following Fiona, the next name on the list of tropical storms in the Atlantic basin for 2016 is Gaston.
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A train of disturbances traveling from Africa to Central America has been ongoing for the past several weeks.
Dry air and disruptive winds have been a deterrent in this area during much of the summer, but that is beginning to change. Waves of moisture will likely become more extensive in the coming weeks.
The second half of August typically brings a strong uptick in development of systems originating near Cabo Verde. A number of these systems have been some of the strongest hurricanes in the Atlantic, including hurricanes Allen, Andrew, Gloria and Hugo.
The area around Cabo Verde (previously known as as Cape Verde) creates prime breeding ground for tropical systems through much of September.