A new system is ready to form near Africa as Hurricane Sam arcs into the central Atlantic

Powerful Hurricane Sam is heading in the general direction of Bermuda but is forecast to miss the island to the east. The storm is temporarily sputtering slightly under somewhat hostile upper winds, but it is forecast to surge one more time over the next day or so before it slowly weakens over the cold North Atlantic.

Sam will still be a strong hurricane when it passes Bermuda on Friday or Saturday. They’ll know the storm is there but should just get a fringe effect. Powerful swells generated by the energy Sam is putting into the ocean will impact Bermuda, of course, and reach the U.S. East coast over the weekend.

In the far eastern Atlantic, Disturbance #2 is very well organized. Later today, it will likely be designated a tropical depression, or it could jump right to Tropical Storm Victor. Even if it starts as a depression, it would likely become Victor very soon.

Victor is expected to turn harmlessly north into the central Atlantic over the next few days, pulled into the low-pressure gap created by Hurricane Sam.

There is not much left of Disturbance #1 to the west of soon-to-be Victor. The odds of it developing now look pretty low. It is forecast to drift toward the Caribbean islands, but the upper-level winds ahead of it are expected to be fairly hostile. If it doesn’t get started soon, it’s not going to happen.

It now appears that what’s left of Tropical Storm Peter will miss its opportunity to regenerate. In any case, it’s no threat to land.

For now, everything is staying away from land well out in the Atlantic. Next week, we’ll start to look at the southern Caribbean.