Tropical Storm Philippe continues to struggle but Invest 91L expected to develop soon in Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean remains extremely active this week as the remnants of Ophelia continue to cause issues in the Northeast while a struggling Tropical Storm Philippe spins across the open waters, and now Invest 91L is likely to develop into a tropical depression in the coming days.
Here's a closer look at the active Atlantic Basin.
Tropical Storm Philippe
Tropical Storm Philippe's stats. (FOX Weather)
Tropical Storm Philippe continues to spin off to the west through the open waters of the central tropical Atlantic and remains disorganized.
On its current track, Philippe is expected to gradually weaken over the next few days, likely passing north of the Caribbean islands this weekend. It's forecast to dissipate north of Puerto Rico by Saturday or Sunday.
Philippe is the 16th named storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.
Tropical Storm Philippe's cone. (FOX Weather)
Invest 91L in central tropical Atlantic
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring a disturbance halfway between the Cabo Verde Islands and the Lesser Antilles, currently giving it a high chance of development in the next two days. This disturbance has been dubbed Invest 91L by the NHC.
An invest is simply a naming convention used by the NHC to identify an area of weather that it is investigating for possible development into a tropical depression or tropical storm within the next week.
WHAT IS AN INVEST DURING HURRICANE SEASON?
The outlook for Invest 91L in the central tropical Atlantic. (FOX Weather)
Forecasters said showers and thunderstorms associated with Invest 91L are showing signs of organization on Tuesday. Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive to development, and a tropical depression is likely to form in the next couple of days while the system moves west-northwestward across the central tropical Atlantic Ocean.
If it becomes a tropical storm with winds of at least 39 mph, this system will earn the name Rina.
The tropical weather outlook for the Atlantic Ocean. (FOX Weather)