2016's Matthew and Otto retired; 2017 season showing signs of awakening

Hurricane season does not officially start until June 1, but from experience we know that Mother Nature does not always have an exact timer.

A rare March tropical system may be brewing across the southeastern Atlantic Ocean.

This low-pressure system developed from the tail end of a frontal boundary and has created torrential rain for days over Puerto Rico, the U.S and British Virgin Islands, which lasted into the weekend.

The heavy showers were not the only thing affecting the weekend activities over the Caribbean and for cruisers. Seas were dangerous as waves were above 10 feet. Surf and rip currents were high, also bringing dangerous conditions for swimmers.

On Monday, the low-pressure system is located about 400 miles north of Hispaniola and will continue to move over Atlantic waters as it again curves westward to the northern Atlantic.

As this system continue to northward it becomes less likely that we would have the first named tropical (or subtropical) system of the year, Arlene.
The water temperatures are in the mid to upper 60s where the system is currently located.

Regardless if named or not, this system does not pose a threat for U.S residents, Bermuda will experience torrential rains, high surf, waves and winds.

In known history, only one hurricane system has developed in the month of March. It was in 1908, when storms were given numbers not names. Hurricane One, reached category 2, taking an unusual south-southwest path cross the U.S. Virgin Islands before losing hurricane status over the Caribbean.

On a related tropical note: The World’s Meteorological Organization retired the names Matthew and Otto from the name list. They were replaced by Martin and Owen. These names will be entered to the list that will be used in 2022.

HOW DOES A STORM GET NAMED

Matthew did not make landfall as a major category hurricane in the US, but it did brush Florida’s eastern coast, causing substantial damages, especially along Volusia and Flagler counties.

Otto was a the seventh hurricane of the 2017 season and in a post-season investigation the National Hurricane Center determined that Otto had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, which made it a major hurricane, category 3. Otto developed late in the season, crossing from the Caribbean over Nicaragua to the Pacific. The last tropical cyclone to do this was Cesar in 1996.

Cox Media Group