THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 22, 1996 TAG: 9608220353
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 62 lines
The tropics are warming up.
By this morning, you may be able to say hello again to Dolly and welcome Edouard. But don't fret about another storm-like swirl off the Southeast coast - forecasters say it's not a tropical threat.
``When we get into the last 10 days of August, the activity tends to pick up,'' said John Hope, a senior meteorologist at The Weather Channel in Atlanta. ``And that's what we are starting to see.''
Historically, the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season comes Sept. 10.
The season's fifth tropical depression formed Wednesday in the eastern Atlantic and is expected to become a tropical storm by this morning, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Meanwhile, Dolly, which lost its punch while passing over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, is expected to regain strength. The storm's rebirth has been slower than anticipated because it did not move away from land as quickly as forecast.
By Wednesday evening, the center had finally emerged over the warm, open waters of the Bay of Campeche. ``We think we are going to see rather rapid strengthening,'' Hope said. Conditions in the area - water temperature and weather patterns - ``are almost ideal for development,'' he said.
The Mexican government has reported no deaths attributed to Dolly, but two fishermen are missing. The storm has caused minor flooding and minimal damage.
Dolly is expected to stay away from the United States - but that's not necessarily good news for drought-stricken Texas. Agriculture has suffered badly in recent months, and reservoirs for public drinking water are low. Any rainfall - especially the 5 to 10 inches expected along Dolly's route - would be welcome.
The storm is forecast to cross westward and back into the Mexico coast several hundred miles south of Brownsville by Friday. ``It's very likely, before it makes landfall, that it will be a hurricane again,'' Hope said.
At 5 p.m., the center of Dolly was about 50 miles southwest of Campeche, Mexico, moving west near 3 mph. That motion was expected to continue overnight with some increase in forward speed. Maximum sustained winds were near 35 mph.
As for the newest tropical depression, it is expected to earn its name - Edouard - quickly.
``It is likely to become a tropical storm tonight,'' Hope said Wednesday. ``But it's too early to speculate on whether it would threaten the U.S. or Caribbean islands.''
Tropical depressions are named when maximum sustained winds exceed 39 mph and they are reclassified as tropical storms. They become hurricanes when sustained winds reach 74 mph.
At 5 p.m., the center of the depression was about 400 miles west southwest of the Cape Verde Islands, moving west near 13 mph. A gradual turn to the west-northwest is expected today. Maximum sustained winds were near 35 mph.
Closer to home, there's an impressive-looking, cyclone-like swirl of clouds a few hundred miles southeast of North Carolina. But, Hope said, ``we don't think that it is going to develop'' into a tropical storm.
``It's a little bit scary to look at with that (counterclockwise) circulating pattern,'' Hope said. ``But we don't see it developing, although it is moving toward the west, so it is likely to bring some rain to the Southeast.''
KEYWORDS: WEATHER by CNB