Hard to believe we went a full 37 days without a single named storm in the Atlantic, but we knew that streak would end at some point – especially with the peak of hurricane season fast approaching. Sure enough, Tropical Storm Chantal formed late Tuesday evening in the middle of North Atlantic shipping lanes.

Chantal isn’t going to do much. Forward motion should slow by the end of the week, and it’ll dance around the middle of the ocean. No impact to land is expected.

We’re also watching an area disturbed weather near the Bahamas. It’ll be battling some pockets of moderate wind shear over the next few days that should prevent any development. Next week however, environmental conditions will likely become more conducive, and it’s possible a tropical depression or storm will form off the Southeastern coast of the U.S. It’s far too early to say what, if any, U.S. impacts there may be. The next name on the list would be ‘Dorian’.

0Z 8/21 ECMWF Model Run valid for next Wednesday (8/28) evening.

6Z 8/21 GFS Model Run valid for next Wednesday (8/28) evening.

Historically speaking, about two thirds of all activity in the Atlantic occurs between August 20 and October 10. The season is young.

An area of low pressure brought heavy rain to the North Carolina coastline and Outer Banks over the weekend. It is now sitting several hundred miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts in the Atlantic. Thunderstorm activity associated with the low has already decreased and will continue to do so as it moves northeast into cooler waters, so development is unlikely. It will no longer impact the East coast as it moves further into the Atlantic Ocean.

The rest of the tropics remain quiet under the influence of dry air and wind shear.