Tropical Storm Erika forms in Atlantic

At 2 p.m. this afternoon, the low was 950 miles east of the Lesser Antilles and was moving westward near 20 mph.

Interests in the Leeward Islands were advised to monitor Erika as watches might be issued early Tuesday.

“Wind shear is when strong winds near the surface and aloft blow strongly from different directions”, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. In addition to the wind shear, the Caribbean is also dominated by very dry air at the moment which is cutting off the moist, tropical air needed for a tropical system to develop or even maintain itself.

A third tropical wave and associated low pressure area located near the Cape Verde Islands is accompanied by disorganized showers and thunderstorms.

The Leeward Islands are a collection small islands dividing the Atlantic Ocean from the Caribbean Sea.

Forecasters said the storm would likely bring little relief to drought-stricken Puerto Rico. A track farther north would minimize these impacts.

According to Kottlowski, the exact path this weekend into next week is uncertain at this time.

We’ll be tracking the latest on this new area of concern over the next couple of weeks on-air and on the KPLC 7 mobile app. “After 48 hours, Erika will be approaching an upper-level low/trough that is forecast to be near Hispaniola, which is expected to cause an increase in westerly wind shear”.

At this point in the hurricane season, water temperatures are at their warmest.

OTHER SYSTEMS: Another disturbance near Africa is being given a low chance of developing over the next five days.