Tropical Storm Harvey is moving toward the west near 18 mph and a continued westward motion with a slight increase in forward speed is expected over the next couple of days.
- Tropical Storm Harvey to produce few inches of rain
- Harvey is no threat to Florida
On the forecast track, Harvey will move through the Windward Islands today and into the eastern Caribbean Sea later today.
Tropical storm conditions will first reach the Lesser Antilles within the warning area later this morning. Harvey is expected to produce rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches across portions of the Windward Islands from Martinique southward to Grenada.
These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.
Another Air Force plane will be investigating Harvey this morning.
Some slight strengthening is possible during the next two days then Harvey could be near hurricane strength by the time it approaches Central America or the Yucatan peninsula early next week.
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There are two other areas we are monitoring in the tropics.
Shower and thunderstorm activity associated with an area of low pressure located about 900 miles east of the Leeward Islands continues to show signs of organization.
While this system does not yet appear to have a closed circulation this morning, only a slight increase in organization could lead to the formation of a tropical depression. Upper-level winds become less favorable for development early next week.
Global models continue to display inconsistency with this tropical disturbance but it’s expected to move west-northwestward during the next few days. The computer models show it moving north of Puerto Rico and toward the Bahamas and U.S. next week.
A tropical wave located over the far eastern Atlantic Ocean a few hundred miles west and southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands continues to produce disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Environmental conditions are forecast to become more favorable for some development early next week.
Remember that the spaghetti model plot does not indicate the strength of a system or even development at all. It only predicts where this broad area of low pressure is expected to go.