The 11th tropical depression has formed in the central Atlantic; the Miami-based National Hurricane Center is forecasting it to become Tropical Storm Josephine by tomorrow night. If it does so, it will become the earliest “J” storm on record in the Atlantic, beating 2005’s Jose which formed on August 22.
There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect for the storm system which is currently located about 1,110 miles west southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands and about 1,450 miles east of the Lesser Antilles.
As of the 5pm advisory from the National Hurricane Center, the center of Tropical Depression #11 was located near latitude 11.7 North, longitude 40.0 West. The depression is moving toward the west near 16 mph; it had maximum sustained winds of about 35 mph and an estimated minimum central pressure of 1007 mb.
The National Hurricane Center expects this system to continue moving to the west through Wednesday, followed by a west-northwestward motion at a similar forward speed later Wednesday night which is forecast to continue through the rest of the week. Gradual intensification is expected over the next 48 hours and the National Hurricane Center believes the system will become a tropical storm later tomorrow night or Thursday morning.
