Where is Tropical Storm Philippe? National Hurricane Center has its eye on the path
As the remnants of Tropical Storm Ophelia slowly dissipated Tuesday, hurricane forecasters were keeping watch on Tropical Storm Philippe and one other system in the Atlantic basin.
Fortunately, neither of the systems, including Philippe, were expected to pose a threat to the U.S. or any other land areas, the National Hurricane Center said.
We're currently in the middle of the busiest period of the Atlantic hurricane season. The season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, with the most-active period running from mid-August through mid-October.
Overall, the active 2023 Atlantic hurricane season is challenging records: The 17 named storms so far in 2023 tie 2005 for the third-most Atlantic named storms through Sept. 23 on record, trailing 2020 (23 named storms) and 2021 (18 named storms), according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
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Tropical Storm Philippe likely to weaken and then dissipate
Tropical Storm Philippe, the 17th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, was spinning weakly in the open Atlantic Ocean Tuesday. According to the hurricane center, the storm was "struggling" due to strong wind shear that was preventing Philippe from strengthening.
"Philippe remains a strongly sheared and poorly organized tropical storm," the hurricane center said in its 5 p.m. update. A combination of the shear and dry air should "cause gradual weakening," the hurricane center said, adding that Philippe should dissipate within the next four days.
According to AccuWeather, Phillipe or its remnants may "skirt the islands of the northern Caribbean later this week with drenching showers and locally gusty thunderstorms on its southern fringe."
As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, the center of Philippe was located about 780 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands, the hurricane center said. The storm's maximum wind speed was 45 mph and it was headed west at 13 mph.
Track Tropical Storm Philippe
Special note on the NHC cone: The forecast track shows the most likely path of the center of the storm. It does not illustrate the full width of the storm or its impacts, and the center of the storm is likely to travel outside the cone up to 33% of the time.
Tropical Storm Philippe spaghetti models
A note about the spaghetti models: Model plot illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses the top four or five highest-performing models to help make its forecasts.
Hurricane center also tracking one other system
Forecasters at the hurricane center are also tracking one other system that was located far out in the Atlantic Ocean.
That system, a tropical wave that's even further away from the U.S. than Philippe, shows some signs of strengthening, and is forecast to become a tropical depression within the next couple of days. This tropical wave would also likely take a turn to the north once it becomes a depression or named storm, AccuWeather said.
If it becomes a named tropical storm, the next name on the list of storms for 2023 is Rina.
Seven-day tropical weather outlook
Ophelia fades away
After bringing a dreary, soggy weekend to much of the East Coast, lingering rain continued Tuesday for parts of the mid-Atlantic and New England as Ophelia's remnants slowly moved offshore, the National Weather Service said.
AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said ripple effects will still be felt. "Although Ophelia will continue to lose wind intensity through early week, gusty winds and drenching rain can continue to impact many communities near the coast from the mid-Atlantic into southern New England," he said.
Ophelia made landfall just before dawn last Saturday morning near Emerald Isle, North Carolina, with sustained winds estimated at 70 mph, which is near hurricane-strength of 74 mph. A wind gust of 83 mph was recorded at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, the weather service reported.
Hurricane names: What will the hurricanes of the 2023 Atlantic season be named? Here's the list.
Contributing: C. A. Bridges and Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tropical Storm Philippe: Hurricane forecasters are tracking its path