BWS: Tropical Storm Gonzalo Is “Not A Threat”
Tropical Storm Gonzalo — the 7th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season — has formed, and it is “not a threat to Bermuda at this time,” the Bermuda Weather Service said.
The BWS said that Gonzalo’s closest point of approach to Bermuda within 72 hours is forecast to be 1210 nm to the south at 6pm on Sat, July 25th, with the BWS noting that “this system may move closer to Bermuda after this time period depending upon its track.”
Graphic courtesy of the BWS:
The latest forecast from the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, “At 1100 AM AST, the center of Tropical Storm Gonzalo was located near latitude 9.9 North, longitude 43.6 West. Gonzalo is moving toward the west near 14 mph [22 km/h]. A general westward motion at a faster forward speed is expected during the next few days.
“Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 50 mph [85 km/h] with higher gusts. Additional strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days, and Gonzalo is expected to become a hurricane by Thursday. Gonzalo is a small tropical cyclone, as tropical-storm-force winds extend outward only up to 25 miles [35 km] from the center.”
Graphic courtesy of the NHC:
Tropical Storm Gonzalo is reported to be the earliest seventh named storm on record and according to CNN, the average the 7th named storm in a season forms is in September, and the old record for the earliest 7th named storm formation in the Atlantic was Gert on July 24, 2005.
Bermudians are, of course, rather familiar with storms named Gonzalo, with the island taking a hit from Hurricane Gonzalo in 2014 that caused various damage and widespread power outages.
Thats good, because we all remember what happened the last time Gonzalo came to town.