Aug. 25 -- A prolonged drought in named tropical systems in the Atlantic Ocean could come to an end as August transitions to September, AccuWeather forecasters say.
It has been nearly two months since Tropical Storm Colin came and went during the first weekend of July. Since then, environmental conditions over much of the basin this summer have been detrimental to the formation of organized tropical threats.
However, as the heart of the hurricane season approaches, there are signs that tropical activity from the coast of Africa to the Caribbean could steadily increase.
"Wind shear has dropped off in a zone from just north of the equator over the Atlantic to the Caribbean Sea this week," AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.
In simple terms, wind shear is a belt of stiff breezes that, when strong, can disrupt or prevent tropical development. Vast areas of wind shear, dry air and dust have been present over much of the primary development zone in the Atlantic basin this summer.
