Tropical Storm Larry grows with projections to become major hurricane
Tropical Storm Larry formed Wednesday morning, gaining strength all day in the eastern Atlantic on a path to become a major hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.
As of 8 p.m. the system was located 370 miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph moving west at 22 mph. The system became Tropical Depression 12 on Tuesday evening and was named a tropical storm by 5 a.m. Wednesday. It quickly gained strength throughout the day and the 12th named storm of the year is on the verge of hurricane status.
By Saturday, rapid intensification is forecast and Larry could be pushing for a Category 3 strength of 120 mph because of warm sea-surface temperatures, low vertical wind shear, and Larry’s tightly formed inner core.
Larry’s projected track moved considerably west Wednesday after the GFS model shifted its track westward by more than 500 nautical miles, the NHC said. Other models haven’t shown such a stark shift.
Erring on the side of caution, the NHC shifted its projection westward and is keeping a close eye on the storm.
Meanwhile, the NHC is monitoring other storms, as well.
As of the NHC’s 8 p.m. tropical outlook, it said a broad area of low pressure is forecast to develop over the southwestern Caribbean Sea in the coming days. The odds of forming into a tropical depression or storm are at 10% in the next two days and 20 percent in the next five days, thanks to marginally favorable conditions for its development.
The next tropical storm name on the World Meteorological Organization’s list is Mindy.
Kate was downgraded to a tropical depression Tuesday evening and the NHC issued its final advisory on the system at 5 p.m. Wednesday as the system lost any well-defined circulation in the mid-Atlantic.
Staff writer David Harris contributed to this report.
