Tropical Storm Earl becomes newest hurricane

Even as all eyes are focused on Hurricane Danielle, right behind her is a another system has managed to become a hurricane over the weekend is over. Tropical Storm Earl is currently about 1,400 miles behind Danielle while following a very similar track. He’s moving at a brisk pace of 16 mph, as opposed to Danielle’s 9 mph.

St. Martin and St. Barthelemy, two islands in the northeast Caribbean, are now under a tropical storm watch. The watch is a reminder to residents that tropical storm conditions could develop any time within the next 72 hours.

At this time forecasters are not expecting either storm to make landfall, but they are less sure about Earl. Earl is still far enough out in the Atlantic to change course unexpectedly. If the storm strengthens to hurricane force, which is expected by sometime Saturday or Sunday, Earl would be the third hurricane of the season.

Hurricane Alex was the first, making landfall in Mexico on June 30th. The storm pummeled northeastern Mexico with high winds and record rainfall, causing major flooding as several dams exceeded their capacity. Alex’s damage was estimated to be near $100 million in Mexico alone. In the U.S., Alex did only minor damage in parts of southern Texas.

Earl’s winds have remained steady at 45 mph, making it a weaker tropical storm. A system is designated a tropical storm if sustained winds are anywhere between 39 mph and 73 mph. Even at such a low speeds, Earl’s sustained winds are enough to do moderate damage if he were to pass over Bermuda without gaining any strength.

Two other named storms have formed in the Atlantic this year. Tropical Bonnie passed over Florida’s southern tip in mid-July, before losing strength over the Gulf of Mexico and finally dissipating. Colin followed a very similar path just a few weeks later, dong little to no damage.

The National Weather Service issued its annual hurricane season predictions in May, suggesting that the 2010 season could be among the most active in the last 15 years. The aggressive outlook was downgraded in early August after June and July experienced very weak conditions. Forecaster still believe however, that the season could produce up to twenty named storms and five or six major hurricanes.

The period between August and October is generally peak season for Atlantic hurricanes.