- Tropical storm Gonzalo is approaching Trinidad and Tobago.
- He is expected to tour the South Windward Islands on Saturday.
- It is a very small storm, so its impacts will be minimal.
- Flood rain, high winds, high waves, and coastal flooding are possible in parts of the Windward Islands.
- Gonzalo is the seventh named storm to form in the Atlantic.
Tropical storm Gonzalo is heading to the Windward Islands on Saturday, but a weakening is expected as the storm moves to the Caribbean. Some islands can receive torrential rains as Gonzalo passes.
Gonzalo’s center is located just east of Trinidad, moving west quite quickly.
The following map shows the latest clocks and / or warnings issued for Gonzalo in the south of the Windward Islands. A warning means that those conditions are expected in the next 36 hours.
(PLUS: Hurricane season terms you need to know)
Current watches and warnings
Hurricane hunters have encountered a weakened tropical storm on a flight Friday night, with winds between 30 and 40 mph.
Gonzalo’s small size and the environment around him keep the storm weak and disorganized. You may have to squint to collect the size of your orange shaded tropical storm force winds in the chart below.
Gonzalo’s current wind field
(The orange circle shows the extent of tropical storm force winds in the system (at least 39 mph). The purple circle indicates the extent of hurricane-force winds (at least 74 mph), according to the National Hurricane Center .
Gonzalo has been battling dry air, which abounds in his north and west, as shown by the orange and red colors in the satellite image below.
Its circulation ingested some of this dry air early Thursday morning, slowing its intensification at that time.
Thunderstorms continue to seem unimpressive near Gonzalo’s center as he continues to fight dry air.
Water vapor satellite image
(This satellite image shows areas of moist (white, pink, purple) and dry (orange, red) air in the atmosphere. Gonzalo’s last location is shown in the white circle near the bottom of the image.)
Small storms like Gonzalo can quickly intensify under the right conditions, but they can also succumb to unfavorable conditions more quickly than a larger storm.
Once in the Eastern Caribbean Sea on Sunday, Gonzalo is expected to encounter a more hostile environment of dry, stable air and possibly an increase in wind shear that would suppress thunderstorms and / or push them away from the center.
Gonzalo can also interact with northern South America this weekend.
Therefore, it is expected to become a tropical wave before affecting any other part of the Caribbean basin.
This “hurricane graveyard” of the Eastern Caribbean Sea has been shown to peak in July.
Current storm information and forecast route
(The red shaded area indicates the potential path of the tropical cyclone center. It is important to note that the impacts (particularly heavy rain, high waves, coastal flooding, winds) with any tropical cyclone generally extend beyond its predicted path. ).
Potential impacts
The South Windward Islands should be prepared for a brief round of high winds, heavy rains and heavy waves from Gonzalo on Saturday.
Flash floods and landslides are of concern, especially in mountainous terrain. Gusts of wind can also be stronger on higher terrain.
Gonzalo is the seventh oldest tropical storm on record to form in the Atlantic basin, according to Phil Klotzbach, a tropical scientist at Colorado State University. The previous record was held by Tropical Storm Gert, which developed on July 24, 2005.
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