Tropical depressions No. 3 continues to churn off Florida’s coast this morning with an increase of wind speed to 35 mph.
The system that formed near the Bahamas on Monday is expected to stay off Florida’s east coast but should bring 1-3 inches of rain to the Sunshine State through today, forecasters said Monday night.
In the 5 a.m. update, the National Hurricane Center said Tropical Depression 3 was located about 40 miles east-northeast of West Palm Beach, moving northwest at about 10 mph.
Forecasters said the storm’s maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph with higher gusts.
“On the forecast track, the center of the depression should remain just offshore of the east coast of Florida over the next day or so,” the hurricane center said Monday night. “Rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches are expected across the Bahamas and the east coast of Florida through Tuesday. “
If the depression exceeds expectations and develops into a tropical storm, it would be the third named storm of 2019, with the name “Chantal.”
The disturbance was detected Sunday afternoon and had a 20 percent chance of tropical development within 48 hours. By 8 a.m. Monday those chances crept up to 30 percent, which ballooned to 60 percent in the NHC’s 2 p.m. update.
“That’s pretty surprising,” said WOFL Fox 35 meteorologist Jayme King. “It was believed that wind shear, the winds in the upper atmosphere, would tear the top of this, giving it a hair cut, and not giving it a chance to grow.”
Tropical storms commonly develop in the area of space east of the African coast, but since African dust has been drying out the area development in the region has been sparse, King said.
However, meteorologists suspected that areas closer to home may be opportune regions for tropical development, according to King.
The first named storms of 2019, Andrea and Barry, found their roots in the Bahamas and Gulf of Mexico.
“Now is the time to be prepared especially with this wave so close to home,” King said. “It very well could have developed into a tropical storm by tomorrow. We don’t know yet. Anything could happen.”
