Tropical Storm Fiona Stronger Despite Battles With a Hostile Atmosphere in the Central Atlantic

August 20, 2016
Tropical Storm Fiona, the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, is clinging to life against a hostile atmosphere in the central Atlantic Ocean.
Wind shear is blowing Fiona's convection away from its center of circulation, and dry air is also pervasive around the tropical cyclone.
On Saturday, this failed to weaken the storm. In fact, it strengthened some.

Infrared Satellite Image

Here is the latest status from the National Hurricane Center:

• Tropical Storm Fiona was located about 825 miles east-northeast of the Lesser Antilles.
• Fiona is moving northwest around 15 mph.

(MORE: Hurricane Central)

Current Storm Status

Forecast: Hostile Environment

As our forecast path shows, Fiona will continue heading in a general northwest direction into the central Atlantic Ocean during the next five days and is no threat to land.

Projected Path

As mentioned earlier, Fiona is facing a familiar pair of nemeses to tropical cyclones.
First, wind shear, namely, differing winds aloft compared to near the surface, is increasing over Fiona.

Current Satellite, Wind Shear in the Atlantic

Wind shear tends to displace a tropical cyclone's convection from its center of circulation and can also tilt that circulation. While some intense hurricanes can fend off some light to moderate wind shear, weaker systems can be ripped apart if the shear is too strong.
(MORE: Hurricane Season Outlook Update)
The increased southwest winds aloft responsible for the anticipated wind shear, along with a fairly weak Bermuda-Azores high have caused Fiona to gain too much latitude to ever be a threat to the Lesser Antilles.
Dry air in the central Atlantic wrapping into Fiona's circulation encourage stronger thunderstorm downdrafts and disperse the convection from the system's center.

Satellite Image: Where the Dry and Moist Air Is

Therefore, it is possible Fiona, weakened by wind shear and dry air, could degenerate into a remnant low or tropical wave in the next day or so.
Fiona is not a threat to either the Lesser Antilles or the U.S.
It's not entirely out of the question Fiona, or what's left of it after the hostile environment, could end up somewhere near Bermuda sometime in the week ahead.
We're now headed into the climatologically most active time of the Atlantic hurricane season.
(MORE: When Atlantic Season Peak Arrives)
This time of year, you can see tropical waves, also known as African easterly waves, lined up over Africa south of the Sahara Desert, ready to emerge into the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
A fraction of these tropical waves serve as the seed for an Atlantic basin tropical storm or hurricane each season.

Africa Infrared Satellite

So, while this latest Atlantic system may not pose a significant threat to land, that may not be the case with subsequent tropical waves in the heart of the hurricane season.
Check back with us at weather.com for the latest on this system and any other systems during the hurricane season.

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