Looking at a video from a satellite or radar over the Atlantic is scary at the moment: there are five – 5 – active tropical cyclones, two can become major hurricanes and one is already forcing evacuations in the Gulf of Mexico. It is the second time in history that such a situation has been recorded. And it had not happened for 49 years: the last one was in 1971.
At the peak of the hurricane season, two have already reached this category, Paulette and Sally, two are still tropical storms, Teddy and Vicky, and the fifth, René, is already just a tropical depression. Which is not to say that one of them does not move up as he advances across the ocean towards land: the most worrying is Teddy, but let’s go.
An image with the location of the 5 storms
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The 5 most visible storms in the Atlantic in this NASA photo
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THE Hurricane Sally it is the one that at the moment causes the most concern. It is entering the Gulf of Mexico, where several evacuations are already underway in the lower parts of the coast. The storm is expected to hit land this Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, somewhere between the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, USA. Its greatest danger is the large amount of water it carries, foreseeing “life-threatening storms and flash floods”: the Mississippi River can rise between 2 to 3 meters from its mouth to Lake Borgne and the strong swell will feel from Louisiana to Florida.
Sally’s route and expected flooding
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Hurricane Paulette hit the coast of Bermuda this Monday, with winds, storms and heavy rains that are still being felt. According to the US National Hurricane Center (National Hurricane Center – NHC), “The waves produced by Paulette still affected parts of the Leeward Islands, the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas and the United States themselves”. The Paulette should now continue to strengthen as it heads towards the open sea and could become a major hurricane, with winds of at least 180 km / h, on Wednesday. If that happens, it will be only the second hurricane to reach that category this year, with each season only averaging three major hurricanes in total.
And this is where the tropical storm Teddy comes in, which is currently in the central Atlantic, more than 1,600 kilometers east of the Lesser Antilles, but which is expected to become a hurricane in the coming days. If that happens, it will be the eighth of this year: the problem is that forecasts point that, by the end of the week, Teddy will also become a major hurricane, category 3 or higher, when it approaches Bermuda. Only time, and the route, will tell.
Of the rest, tropical storm Vicky is still west of Cape Verde, but it is the 20th of this year, when we are on September 14, also breaking a record: the last time a storm had reached the top 20 so early had been to Tammy on October 5, 2005. Luckily, Vicky is likely to encounter unfavorable weather conditions in the coming days, which will limit its growth.
The René tropical depression, on the other hand, causes less concern. It was in a higher category, it was a tropical storm last weekend, and it should continue to weaken as it crosses the Atlantic Ocean. It is not expected to affect any territory and is expected to dissipate in the next two days. But you never know.
For the 2nd time on record, the Atlantic has 5+ tropical cyclones (tropical depression (TD) or stronger) simultaneously: #Hurricane #Paulette, TD #Rene, Tropical Storm #Sally, Tropical Storm #Teddy and TD21. Other time was from September 11-14, 1971. pic.twitter.com/9ET1OoxE6f
— Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) September 14, 2020
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