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June marks the official beginning of hurricane season, but most Miamians know August can be prime time for destructive action. Given the fact that we’ve gone a historically long time without a major storm, though, it’s safe to assume most locals aren’t worried about hurricanes this year. However, it appears two tropical waves have formed in the Atlantic Ocean — one smack in the middle, and one closer to the West African coast — that could, theoretically, grow into hurricanes in the coming days.
The key caveat here: The National Hurricane Service says the first wave, which is moving westward at a rate of 20 to 25 mph, has only a 30 percent chance of forming into a hurricane within the next five days.
But the second wave, which is farther east, has a 50 percent chance of turning into a hurricane, though the wave will encounter “a less favorable environment over the central tropical Atlantic” early next week, which means you shouldn’t start buying duct tape and heading to higher ground just yet.
However, if either storm does develop fully, both appear to be aimed point-blank at Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico and could rope in South Florida.
(For those who don’t know, a tropical wave is technically an elongated low-pressure area stretching over the ocean.)
There have been four named storms so far this year: The next two up on the docket are Earl and Fiona. Here’s to hoping we meet neither.
