Tropical Storm Nigel now a Hurricane, expected to intensify further

Tropical Storm Nigel, which had formed recently in the central Atlantic region, has now been categorized as a Hurricane. This development is in line with the predictions made earlier, stating that Tropical Storm Nigel would become a Hurricane on Monday.

The latest update though, is that Hurricane Nigel is now expected to intensify into a massive, major Hurricane, which is a matter of concern. In the recent past, the US National Hurricane Center and Caribbean weather monitoring institutions have been kept busy by quite an active Hurricane season, which is already breaking records.

In its latest update, the US National Hurricane Center said that Hurricane Nigel is approximately 980 miles northeast of the Lesser Antilles and that no coastal warnings or watches have been placed in the Caribbean as yet.

At 5 AM AST (0900 UTC), the center of Hurricane Nigel was located near latitude 23.0 North, longitude 48.6 West.

As of the current moment, Hurricane Nigel’s trajectory has been zeroed down and it is moving in a north-northwest direction at a speed of 14 mph or 22kmph. According to current predictions, Nigel is expected to continue moving in a north-northwest direction, at least for the next few days.

The maximum sustained winds recorded have strengthened to roughly 50mph or 85kmph with stronger gusts of wind experienced than before.

The forecast for the next 48 hours is an interesting one, as Hurricane Nigel is slated to intensify significantly and become a major Hurricane. The tropical storm force winds are also extending to a mammoth radius of 140 miles or 220 kms from the center of the storm.

On a more positive note though, the National Hurricane Center has stated that Tropical Storm Margot is not likely to last much longer and will, in all likelihood, degenerate into a post tropical cyclone within the next few hours.

Post Tropical Cyclone Lee is still influencing the Atlantic with gusty winds. It has been postulated though that Post Tropical Cyclone Lee will continue to degenerate gradually over the next few days and will dissipate by Tuesday.

The National Hurricane Center is also monitoring other emerging weather systems and it is quite apparent that the hurricane season is still active in the region. Hence, it is quite clear that the Caribbean is not completely out of the woods yet.

An eye is also being kept on a building tropical depression cause by a strong wave that has come of the coast of Africa and has the ability to influence weather systems in the Atlantic significantly.