TROPICS BEGIN TO HEAT UP

Written by: Brian Neudorff

Monday evening tropical storm Danielle became the second hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. As of 5 a.m. EDT, Danielle was located around 1,110 miles east of the Lesser Antilles and had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph. Danielle currently moving to the west-northwest at a quick 20 mph. The storm is expected to intensify further and become a major hurricane with the next 24-36 hours. Danielle is a classic "Cape Verdes"-type of storm common during the peak part of hurricane season. Cape Verdes-type storms are so named because they form from tropical waves that come off the coast of Africa and pass near the Cape Verdes Islands just west of Africa. Cape Verdes hurricanes are the largest and most dangerous types of hurricane in the Atlantic, since they spend a long time over water and have the opportunity to reach full maturity.

Danielle is not a threat to the United States or any major landmass. The official National Hurricane track has Danielle turning to the north-northwest. It appears it even stays away from Bermuda.



We are two and a half weeks from the peak of the hurricane season which occurs on September 10th. Unlike yesterday and over the weekend when there wasn't a lot of activity showing up on the computer models it appears now that we may see an increase in tropical activity.

There is another tropical wave near the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa. The National Hurricane Center is giving this disturbance a better than 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression with in the next 24 hours. It also looks like it has a good chance of becoming a tropical storm and if it were it would be named Earl.