Atlantic hurricane season starts early with two named storms

Tropical Storm Cindy has formed behind Tropical Storm Bret, in the first instance of two storms in the tropical Atlantic in June since records were kept, forecasters said Friday.

The historic event marks an early and aggressive start to the Atlantic hurricane season that began on June 1 and typically peaks from mid-August to mid-October. Forecasters blamed unusually high sea temperatures for the rare development.

That is what the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has done in Miami forecast 12 to 17 named storms for this year’s hurricane season. It said between five and nine of those storms could become hurricanes, including up to four major Category 3 or higher hurricanes.

Record North Atlantic heat

CBC Nova Scotia meteorologist Ryan Snodden recently wrote that record heat in the North Atlantic is not good news for hurricane season.

Warmer tropical waters of the Atlantic typically lead to more tropical storms and hurricanes, with more fuel available for developing systems.

However, a rapidly developing El Niño could help counteract storms developing in the tropical Atlantic. El Niño events typically lead to stronger wind shear in the tropical Atlantic. This wind shear can suppress the development and growth of tropical storms.

Four people missing

Bret brought wind, heavy rain and waves up to 15 feet early Friday to islands in the eastern Caribbean that were closing to prepare for potential landslides and flooding. Officials on the French Caribbean island of Martinique said they were looking for four people who apparently boarded a lifeboat after their catamaran sank during the storm.

Power outages were reported in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with at least 130 people seeking shelter in government shelters as the storm washed away one home and severely damaged several others, officials said.

Authorities in Barbados said they have received more than a dozen reports of damage island-wide, according to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.

The center of the storm was west of St. Vincent and was moving westward into open water at 19 mph. The maximum sustained wind was 95 km/h.

Airports, businesses, schools and offices on St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Dominica, Martinique and other islands will be closed Thursday afternoon.

Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, had urged people to take shelters if they believed their homes could not withstand the high winds and heavy rains.

“These storms can turn quite quickly,” he said.

Forecasters had warned that the storm could pass directly into St. Lucia, which is north of St. Vincent, but its path shifted south.

“Protect your life, property and livelihoods,” Prime Minister Philip Pierre urged St. Lucia.

Authorities in St. Lucia have opened a shelter at the request of some residents who feared their homes would not withstand the storm.

A tropical storm warning was still in effect for St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

From the French island of Guadeloupe south to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, including Barbados, rainfall of three to six inches was forecast, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Dangerous surf was also a possibility, it warned.

Prediction to disappear

Bret was expected to lose strength after entering the eastern Caribbean Sea and dissipate by the weekend.

Meanwhile, Cindy’s maximum sustained winds were around 75 mph early Friday, and forecasts called for some strengthening.

Cindy is expected to remain a tropical storm as it moves northeast into open water.