Tropical depression forms in Atlantic and another may form this week

While August came and went without a named storm for only the third time since 1961, Tropical Depression Five formed early Thursday, and another could form this week near the Caribbean.

Tropical Depression Five was drifting east early Thursday near the Azores. Any further development is expected to be short-lived.

A system near the Caribbean is gradually developing but is expected to remain outside of the Caribbean Sea as it moves generally toward the U.S. East Coast. Forecasters said though the environmental conditions are marginally favorable for development, the system only needs to slightly develop over the next few days in order to become a tropical depression.

As of 8a.m. Thursday, National Hurricane Center forecasters said it has a 60% chance of developing in the next two days and an 80% chance over the next five days.

The presence of wind shear near the Caribbean could be a hinderance to further development beyond a tropical depression, according to AccuWeather, the private forecasting service.

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A third system moved off the coast of Africa and has a moderate chance of strengthening into a tropical depression as it gets further into the central Atlantic, but if it develops, it also will be short-lived, the center’s 8 a.m. update said, as conditions later in the week will be unfavorable for development.

For just the third time in 61 years there was not a named tropical Atlantic system in August. But the three systems being tracked this week show that September is likely to heat up.

The next named storms to form will be Danielle and Earl.

[ STAY UPDATED with the latest forecast for tropical weather at SunSentinel.com/hurricane ]

“It looks like September could really kick off an active period in the tropics. A steady wave train of energy rolling off Africa into the tropical Atlantic is expected to keep things active for a while across the Atlantic basin,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham.

The most active part of hurricane season is from mid-August to the end of October, with Sept. 10 the statistical peak of the season.

There have only been three named storms so far this season — Alex, Bonnie and Colin — with the last one, Colin, dissipating on July 3, meaning this 60-day streak is the second-longest time in Atlantic hurricane season history without a named storm since 1995.

The longest dry spell since 1995 has been 61 days, from June 18 through Aug. 18 in 1999. However, that two-month run of inactivity was followed by a frenetic conclusion of the hurricane season that featured five Category 4 storms (Bret, Cindy, Floyd, Gert and Lenny) and the drenching Category 2 Irene, which achieved a rarity, with its eye passing over Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties in mid-October.

Forecasters say dry air, Saharan dust and wind shear have been among the reasons there haven’t been more storms this year.

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Of the three named storms so far this season, only Alex made its presence known in South Florida by dumping as much as 12 inches of rain in some areas.

Hurricane season ends Nov. 30.