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Even as hurricane season wanes, forecasters eye two systems in Atlantic

The next named storm of this season would be named Kappa if either system developed.
 
The five-day forecast for potential tropical systems in the Atlantic Ocean.
The five-day forecast for potential tropical systems in the Atlantic Ocean. [ National Hurricane Center ]
Published Nov. 29, 2020

The 2020 hurricane season just doesn’t want to end.

Two systems in the Atlantic were being monitored by the National Hurricane Center on Saturday evening, both of which have a small chance of becoming this season’s next named storm.

One system in the far northeast Atlantic Ocean was given a 30 percent chance of formation in the next five days, according to the hurricane center. The other system — in the central Atlantic as of 7 p.m. — was given just a 10 percent chance of formation in that same time frame.

Neither system poses an imminent threat to Florida.

Both systems show the unpredictability of the 2020 storm season, which has produced powerful storms even late into the season. Two major hurricanes formed this month for the first time in recorded history when Hurricanes Eta and Iota both devastated Central America just days apart.

Related: Hurricane season may not end on time. That’s not the only problem.

Hurricane season will come to an end — on paper — on Monday. But scientists warn that conditions in the tropics remain favorable for storms to form even into December.

“The potential is still there,” David Zierden, who runs the Florida Climate Center at Florida State University, said last week. “Anytime you have 27, 28, 29 degrees Celsius sea-surface temperatures, you have enough energy for a powerful hurricane to form.”

A range of 27 to 29 degrees Celsius is about the same as 80 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Sea-surface temperatures in the western Caribbean remained well in that zone as of Saturday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s database.

The sea-surface temperatures for the Gulf of Mexico and western Caribbean Sea. [ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ]

The next named storm of this season would be named Kappa.

While the tropics remain active, Tampa Bay is bracing for its biggest cold front since February early next week.

“It’ll be the coldest of all season by far,” said Spectrum Bay News 9 Meteorologist Nick Merianos.

Temperatures are expected to reach as low as the upper 30s in Tampa Bay’s northern counties on Tuesday and the low 40s in Hillsborough and Pinellas. The front will come in behind a string of rain, which will bring chances for our region up to 70 percent on Monday, according to Merianos.

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2020 Tampa Bay Times Hurricane Guide

HURRICANE SEASON IS HERE: Get ready and stay informed at tampabay.com/hurricane

PREPARE FOR COVID-19 AND THE STORM: The CDC's tips for this pandemic-hurricane season

PREPARE YOUR STUFF: Get your documents and your data ready for a storm

BUILD YOUR KIT: The stuff you’ll need to stay safe — and comfortable — for the storm

PROTECT YOUR PETS: Your pets can’t get ready for a storm. That’s your job

NEED TO KNOW: Click here to find your evacuation zone and shelter

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