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Laura, now a tropical storm, is continuing to move north far away from any land and will likely become a fierce north Atlantic extratropical storm over the next several days.
Originally classified as a subtropical, or "hybrid," system when it formed Monday, the system has shown much more pronounced tropical characteristics this morning, even though it is moving over much cooler waters than 24 hours. The continued movement northward over even colder water will speed up its transition from tropical to non-tropical over the next 12 to 24 hours. Laura formed in a highly unusual place. While recent sea-surface analysis indicates that water temperatures are warm enough to maintain this system, it is unusually far north. As a point of reference, the system formed due east of Washington, D.C., at a latitude which water temperature typically fail to reach the 80-degree threshold needed by tropical storms. WeatherBug Meteorologist Steve Prinzivalli has the latest in this exclusive WeatherBug Tropical Weather Outlook. As of 11 a.m. EDT, Tropical Storm Laura was located near 41.2 N, 48.8 W. This places the storm 435 miles south-southeast of Cape Race, NewFoundland, Canada, or 1,315 miles east of New York City. Tropical Storm Laura is moving north at 13 mph. A turn to the north-northeast along with an increase in forward speed is expected over the next couple of days. Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph and gradual weakening of the storm is likely in the next few days. The estimated minimum central pressure is 996 mb or 29.41 inches of mercury. Laura is not forecast to impact any land areas, and will lose its tropical characteristics as it moves into the cooler north Atlantic waters on Wednesday. It could cause problems over the British Isle by the weekend, as a gale-force non-tropical storm. In addition, a weak surface low pressure center in the eastern Gulf of Mexico is being watched as well. The activity is expected to spread over Florida through midweek. Right now, this area has very low potential to develop into a tropical depression. WeatherBug Meteorologists will continue to watch Tropical Storm Laura and the remainder of the tropics, and will provide updates as needed. |
