Sept. 8, 2001 – A poorly organized tropical depression, the seventh storm system of the Atlantic hurricane season, was being tracked about 595 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands on Saturday.
The depression, which formed Friday afternoon, appeared favorable for development but, like so many systems this year, failed to strengthen. Satellite images on Saturday showed the depression consisting of a broad circulation with a few bands of showers and thundershowers.
Hurricane forecaster Lixion Avila noted that three tropical waves in the Eastern Atlantic are "close to each other and are interfering with each others' inflow."
The 11 a.m. Saturday advisory discontinued earlier projections for a strengthening of the system, at least in the next two days, Avila said. "Only a slight increase in the winds is suggested in the next 72 hours," he said. "Hurricane specialists are speculating that a more than usually stable atmosphere is inhibiting tropical storm development in the Atlantic."
The depression is expected to maintain its westerly track at 16 miles per hour over the next couple of days, Avila said. Its poorly defined center was located near 15.2 degrees north latitude and 33.6 degrees west longitude and was packing sustained winds of 35 miles per hour. On its present track, the tropical depression is expected to remain well to the northeast of the Lesser Antilles and the Windward Islands, according to Knight Quality Stations meteorologist Alan Archer.
The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on the tropical depression every six hours.
