Aug. 13, 2004 – As if it wasn't enough to worry about Tropical Depression 4, which formed Friday morning, now there's Tropical Depression 5 also out in the Atlantic and heading westward toward the Caribbean.
"It will move south of us as a hurricane," Walter Snell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Juan, predicted of Tropical Depression 5.
The weather system formed late Friday afternoon after having been reported earlier in the day as a tropical wave. Forecasters expect it to be a tropical storm by Saturday.
Snell said Tropical Depression 5 should bring some rain to St. Croix on Monday, but St. Thomas and St. John are not expected to see much in the way of showers.
At 5 p.m. Friday, Tropical Depression 5's center was located at 8.9 degrees north latitude and 46.2 degrees west longitude, or about 1,045 miles south-southeast of the Windward Islands. It was moving west at 19 mph with a sustained wind speed of 35 mph. The barometric pressure stood at 29.79 inches, or 1009 millibars.
As for Tropical Depression 4, it's still ‘way out there in the Atlantic Ocean. It could become a tropical storm by Friday night, forecasters say.
Snell predicted Tropical Depression 4 will pass north of the Virgin Islands next Wednesday, but he reminded Virgin Islands residents that predictions can be wrong. "Pay attention," he urged.
At 5 p.m. Friday, Tropical Depression 4 was centered at 12.5 degrees north latitude and 24 degrees west longitude, or 240 miles south of the Cape Verde Islands. It was moving west at 14 mph with sustained winds of 35 mph. The barometric pressure stood at 29.79 inches, or 1009 millibars.
If the systems are upgraded to tropical storms, they will be named. The next two names on the 2004 list are Danielle and Earl.
Hurricane season runs through November, with the peak historically coming in mid-September.
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