The fifteenth tropical depression of the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season has formed. And while there are no coastal watches or warnings in effect for now, that could change soon in the Cabo Verde Islands. There, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) is encouraging that people closely monitor the progress of the depression since a Tropical Storm Warning may be required for portions of the islands later tonight or early Tuesday.
The center of the brand new Tropical Depression #15 was located near latitude 13.2 North, longitude 20.2 West. The depression is moving toward the northwest near 8 mph , and this general motion is expected by the NHC to continue through Wednesday. On the forecast track, the center of the depression is expected to pass over or near the eastern Cabo Verde Islands on Tuesday, and pass near the central portion of those islands Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
For now, maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph with higher gusts. Slight strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and the depression is expected to become a tropical storm by early Tuesday morning. When this depression becomes a Tropical Storm, it will be named Nestor.
Nestor isn’t expected to last long though. According to the NHC, rapid weakening is forecast to begin by Wednesday morning when the cyclone will be moving away from the Cabo Verde Islands.
As either a Tropical Depression or a Tropical Storm, the system could bring trouble to the Cabo Verde Islands. The system is expected to produce rainfall accumulations of 1 to 3 inches across the Cabo Verde Islands, with isolated maximum amounts of 5 inches in the higher terrain, especially across the eastern portion of the islands. This rainfall may cause flash flooding and mudslides. Tropical storm conditions could occur across the eastern Capo Verde Islands by Tuesday morning, and then gradually spread westward across the central portion of the islands by Tuesday night, making outside preparations difficult or dangerous.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic, tropical cyclone formation isn’t expected over the next 5 days.
