This is from a forecaster from another board. His first sentence says it all. We are blowing thru the peak of the season bone dry everywhere.
wxman57 wrote:It's amazing that we're approaching the peak of the season in 3 weeks and the models are not showing any significant development over the next two weeks. Some here are resorting to finding a possible storm in an odd ensemble member or two. Typically, about half the storms develop prior to Sept. 10th. We might be able to squeeze out another 2-3 named storms by then, making the total 7-8 named storms for the first half of the season (with Sept. 10 as the mid-point). It's going to be hard to reach even 20 named storms unless September turns out to be extremely active with 8-10 named storms and October is equally active. ACE is another story. A single long-tracked major hurricane can generate 50-60 ACE points, so we could be "hyperactive" ACE-wise but a little above normal numbers-wise. I know how quickly the tropics can switch "on", though, but my numbers are now 19/8/5 and that may be a bit too high.
Numbers don't really matter, though. What matters is where the storms track. For now, the Bermuda high is weaker than predicted. We can track waves moving across the MDR, but they're having trouble generating convection due to dry, sinking air. Will this suddenly change over the next 2-3 weeks? The year started off as I suspected, with a long-tracked strong hurricane tracking across the Caribbean. After Beryl, though, things changed. Debby recurved over the NE Caribbean, and other waves just can't generate convection in the MDR.
Those of you in the NE Caribbean, like Luis, are certainly not "out of the woods", as conditions across the MDR will likely become more favorable eventually. Just because waves can't maintain convection in the Caribbean now doesn't mean Gulf Coast residents are safe from any hurricane threat. I've seen many convectionless waves move across the Caribbean suddenly blow up into hurricanes near the Yucatan and move north into the coast. I keep telling my team to track all waves moving across the MDR and Caribbean, as they can blow up in the NW Caribbean and become a "surprise" hurricane in the Gulf.
Let's hope for the best (fewer storms and a reduced risk) but always prepare for the worst.