Tropics Heat Up as Hurricane Season's Peak Arrives

While the 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season has only produced three named storms so far, weather watchers know the peak time for storm development has just arrived.

True to form, the tropics are heating up with not one, but four storm systems under watch by the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. The peak time for storm development, however, is late August to about Sept. 10, according to the Weather Channel.

Hurricane Cristobal is the only named storm currently under observation by the National Hurricane Center. Located north of the Bahamas as of Tuesday, this Category 1 storm has maximum sustained winds of up to 75 mph. Cristobal is not anticipated to make direct landfall on the mainland United States. If it stays on its current path, the storm will wind up in the North Atlantic by Sunday.

While America dodged the bullet that is Cristobal, the storm is blamed for several deaths in the Caribbean.

Cristobal aside, forecasters are keeping a close eye on three other disturbances churning in tropical waters. The first is a low pressure system located over the northern Gulf of Mexico. This storm has only a 10 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone over the next few days. It’s moving west-southwest at about 5 to 10 mph.

The second disturbance is located about 900 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. It has a 0 percent chance of forming into a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours, but that chance rises to 20 percent over the next five days. The storm is moving west-northwest at 15 mph.

The third and final storm under watch is moving off the west coast of Africa. The chance for development of this storm is set at 30 percent over the next five days. It’s moving westward at 10 to 15 mph, the National Hurricane Center reports.

To keep up with the storms’ movements, visit the National Hurricane Center online.

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Photo Credit: Hurricane Cristobal doesn’t appear on the National Hurricane Center’s five-day graphic, but three other storms are under watch for potential development in the next week or so.