Arthur is First Tropical Storm in Atlantic 2014 Season

Hurricane ARTHUR
NHC issuing advisories on Hurricane ARTHUR and TS DOUGLAS
NHC News: Go “Inside the Eye” as we explain our new 5-day Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook making its debut July 1st: http://ow.ly/3mon61 

Looks like it's going to be an active 4th of July holiday weekend with three storms being tracked by the National Hurricane Center.  The 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season has finally had the first tropical depression form and increase to Tropical Storm Arthur.  The storm formed offshore the central Florida Atlantic coast.  It will continue northward along the coast and strengthen into a hurricane before continuing on to Canada.

Not the storm you are looking for?  Click Image or Here

Full coverage of this, and all tropical storms, can be found on our Hurricane Zone page.   There are RSS feeds from the National Hurricane Center posted there giving you up to the minute information.   For storms that impact cruises, we will bring you information on those details as well.  Please bookmark that page for further reference during the Hurricane Season which runs now through November 30th.

Tropical Storm ARTHUR	1100 AM EDT TUE JUL 01 2014 ...DEPRESSION BECOMES A TROPICAL STORM  OFFSHORE OF THE CENTRAL FLORIDA ATLANTIC COAST...
WIND:	NEAR 90 MPH...150 KM/H...WITH HIGHER GUSTS.
WATCHES/ WARNINGS:	A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR... * OCRACOKE INLET NORTH CAROLINA TO THE NORTH CAROLINA/VIRGINIA BORDER * EASTERN ALBEMARLE SOUND A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR... * THE NORTH CAROLINA/VIRGINIA BORDER TO CAPE CHARLES LIGHT VIRGINIA...INCLUDING THE MOUTH OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY * WESTERN ALBEMARLE SOUND * NANTUCKET * CAPE COD FROM PROVINCETOWN TO WOODS HOLE * DIGBY TO PORTERS LAKE NOVA SCOTIA A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR... * NEW BRUNSWICK FROM THE U. S./CANADA BORDER TO GRAND-ANSE * NOVA SCOTIA NORTH OF DIGBY...NORTH OF PORTERS LAKE...AND INCLUDING CAPE BRETON ISLAND * ALL OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND   INTERESTS ELSEWHERE IN COASTAL PORTIONS OF NEW ENGLAND...NEW BRUNSWICK...AND NEWFOUNDLAND SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF ARTHUR.
SHIP IMPACT:	Carnival Splendor -- as it makes its way  up the East Coast of the US.  The Carnival cruise ship will call in at Bermuda  rather than St John tomorrow (July 5th).

     
Storm Archive       Graphics Archive

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...IN THIS CASE WITHIN 24 TO 36 HOURS. 

NHC ACTIVE STORMS (CLICK HERE)

Real-Time Cruise Ship Tracking

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HURRICANES (CLICK HERE)

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND

WIND...TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE IN PORTIONS OF THE
WARNING AREAS IN NORTH CAROLINA AND VIRGINIA THIS MORNING. TROPICAL
STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH THE WARNING AREA IN NEW
ENGLAND BY TONIGHT.

STORM SURGE...THE COMBINATION OF A DANGEROUS STORM SURGE AND THE
TIDE WILL CAUSE NORMALLY DRY AREAS NEAR THE COAST TO BE FLOODED BY
RISING WATERS. THE WATER COULD REACH THE FOLLOWING HEIGHTS ABOVE
GROUND IF THE PEAK SURGE OCCURS AT THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE...

NORTH CAROLINA WITHIN THE HURRICANE WARNING AREA...3 TO 5 FT
PAMLICO AND ALBEMARLE SOUNDS...2 TO 4 FT
EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA...1 TO 3 FT

COASTAL FLOODING IS ALSO POSSIBLE ALONG CAPE COD.

THE HIGHEST WATER WILL OCCUR ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST IN AREAS OF
ONSHORE FLOW. THE SURGE WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE AND DAMAGING
WAVES. SURGE-RELATED FLOODING DEPENDS ON THE RELATIVE TIMING OF THE
SURGE AND THE TIDAL CYCLE...AND CAN VARY GREATLY OVER SHORT
DISTANCES. FOR INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...PLEASE SEE
PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE AND
THE NEW EXPERIMENTAL POTENTIAL STORM SURGE FLOODING MAP FOR MORE
DETAILS.

RAINFALL...RAINFALL WILL BE DIMINISHING OVER EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
THIS MORNING WITH STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES AND
ISOLATED MAXIMUM OF 8 INCHES POSSIBLE. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 1 TO 2
INCHES ARE POSSIBLE OVER SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA. RAINFALL
ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS RHODE
ISLAND...EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS AND COASTAL MAINE.

SURF...SWELLS GENERATED BY ARTHUR ARE AFFECTING AREAS ALONG THE
COAST OF NORTH CAROLINA...AND WILL SPREAD NORTHWARD ALONG THE
MID-ATLANTIC AND NORTHEAST COASTS OF THE UNITED STATES TODAY. THESE
SWELLS ARE EXPECTED TO CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING SURF AND RIP CURRENTS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE.

Historical Notes:

1100 AM EDT TUE JUL 01 2014

...DEPRESSION BECOMES A TROPICAL STORM OFFSHORE OF THE CENTRAL
FLORIDA ATLANTIC COAST... 

 500 AM EDT THU JUL 03 2014

...ARTHUR NOW A HURRICANE...
...EXPECTED TO MOVE NEAR THE NORTH CAROLINA OUTER BANKS TONIGHT...

800 PM EDT THU JUL 03 2014

...8 PM POSITION UPDATE...
...EYE OF ARTHUR PASSING SOUTHEAST OF WILMINGTON NORTH CAROLINA...

100 AM EDT FRI JUL 04 2014

...EYE OF ARTHUR MOVING OVER SOUTHERN PAMLICO SOUND...
...HURRICANE CONDITIONS SPREADING NORTHWARD ALONG THE OUTER BANKS...

900 AM EDT FRI JUL 04 2014

...ARTHUR BEGINS TO WEAKEN AS IT PULLS AWAY FROM NORTH CAROLINA... 

Atlantic Hurricane Season Getting Interesting

NOAA Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook

Not the storm you are looking for?  Click Image or Here

Late August through the end of October is the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane season.  The last several days have been very active.  NHC issuing advisories on Hurricane DANIELLE and Hurricane EARL

The satellite image above shows two tropical cyclones which we are watching and one potential storm.
Please see the following blog posts for complete details on these storms. 
Major Hurricane Danielle Near Bermuda
Tropical Storm Earl Expected to Become Hurricane

The cruise lines are monitoring these storms and have issued statements.  The only cruise line that has made changes is Norwegian Cruise Line.   See the above links for details.

800 PM EDT SAT AUG 28 2010

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...

THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER IS ISSUING ADVISORIES ON HURRICANE
DANIELLE...LOCATED ABOUT 330 MILES EAST-SOUTHEAST OF BERMUDA...AND
ON TROPICAL STORM EARL...LOCATED ABOUT 570 MILES EAST OF THE
NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS.

A BROAD LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM...ASSOCIATED WITH A VIGOROUS TROPICAL
WAVE...IS LOCATED ABOUT 500 MILES WEST OF THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS. 
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE RECENTLY INCREASED NEAR THE
CENTER...AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR A
TROPICAL DEPRESSION TO FORM LATER TONIGHT OR SUNDAY.  THERE
IS A HIGH CHANCE...80 PERCENT...OF THIS SYSTEM BECOMING A TROPICAL
CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS AS IT MOVES WESTWARD TO WEST-
NORTHWESTWARD AT ABOUT 20 MPH.

What is a hurricane?
A low pressure over warm water causes tropical depressions which, if conditions are correct, will form into a hurricane.   Many of the hurricanes at this time of year form off the coast of Cape Verde, Africa.   That is where these storms have formed.

There is another tropical storm behind label "1" in the graphic above.  If you are cruising in the Atlantic in the near future, you'll want to keep watch on all of these storms.  We will continue to monitor the storms as they develop and provide updates here.

UPDATE: 

200 PM EDT SUN AUG 29 2010

ALTHOUGH THE CIRCULATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE AREA OF LOW PRESSURE
LOCATED MIDWAY BETWEEN THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA AND THE LESSER
ANTILLES HAS BECOME BETTER DEFINED TODAY...RECENT SATELLITE DATA
INDICATE THAT IT DOES NOT YET APPEAR TO HAVE A WELL-DEFINED
CENTER...AND THE ASSOCIATED SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY HAS
BECOME LESS ORGANIZED OVER THE PAST FEW HOURS.  HOWEVER...ONLY A
SMALL INCREASE IN ORGANIZATION COULD RESULT IN THE FORMATION OF A
TROPICAL DEPRESSION...AND THERE IS A HIGH CHANCE...80 PERCENT...OF
THIS SYSTEM BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS AS
IT MOVES GENERALLY WESTWARD AT ABOUT 20 MPH.