Tropical Depression Emily Leaves Carolina Beaches At Risk

CHARLOTTE, NC -- The storm known as Emily may have fizzled into a depression while over Florida Monday night, but she still stands to impact beaches in the Carolinas this week as the flow of air raises sea levels, forecasters warned Tuesday.

Tropical Storm Emily was downgraded to a tropical depression the evening of July 31 after it made landfall near Anna Maria Island, Fla.

“Seas and rip currents are likely to increase along part of the United States Atlantic coast as Emily travels northeastward over the Atlantic Ocean during the middle and later part of this week,” AccuWeather said Aug. 1. Seas will continue to build along the Atlantic coast during the week, it said.

“Bathers should be alert for strong and frequent rip currents,” AccuWeather added. “Small craft operators should exercise caution outside of protected intercoastal waters from Florida to North Carolina and in Bermuda.”

Even with increased strength, Emily will not likely turn into a hurricane, forecasters said. (Sign up for our free daily newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Charlotte Patch. iPhone users can download the Patch app in the App Store. Plus, like Charlotte Patch on Facebook.)

Hurricane Season's Peak Nears

The Atlantic hurricane season technically lasts from June 1 to Nov. 30, but forecasters call the period between mid-August and mid-October the “season within the season.” This eight-week period “is often the most active and dangerous time for tropical cyclone activity,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The eight-week period from August to October is historically responsible for major spikes in tropical weather activity, NOAA said. In fact, it accounts for roughly 78 percent of all tropical storm days on record. It is also the period when 87 percent of the category 1 and 2 hurricane days on record occurred. In addition, this period is responsible for “a whopping 96 percent of the major (category 3, 4 and 5) hurricane days.”

So, what makes this eight-week stretch so special?

“Tropical waves are coming off of the coast of Africa roughly every three days, and the very early and late parts of the year provide additional types of potential seedlings,” NOAA’s website explains.

Other environmental conditions during the peak tend to be more conducive for storm development, as well. The factors that align during the peak period include wind, temperature and moisture. Wind shear that might rip disturbances apart in May, for example, tend to weaken by late August, NOAA said.

“This minimum in the shear combines with favorable thermodynamics – ocean temperatures in the deep tropics that increase with each day of summer sun, warmer air temperatures, and increasing atmospheric moisture,” NOAA explained. “When the dynamics and thermodynamics are in sync, as they often are from mid-August through early October, disturbances like African tropical waves can easily strengthen.”

Conditions gradually become less ripe for development in mid-October when increased wind shear tends to reappear and water and air temperatures cool.

Meanwhile, a second area of disturbed weather that was under watch in the Atlantic Ocean fizzled out. As of 11 a.m. Monday, that system dissipated in the area between the Cabo Verde Islands and the Lesser Antilles. The storm had only been given only a 10 percent chance of developing more over the next five days.

Residents readying for the ongoing season can get tips and advice on the federal government’s Ready.gov website.

Patch Editor Sherri Lonon contributed to this report.

Graphics courtesy of the National Hurricane Center