Oct. 10, 2004 You can cross the "N" storm off your list of potential problems for the territory. Subtropical Storm Nicole formed early Sunday morning about 80 miles south-southwest of Bermuda. Since the storm is heading north-northwest, it poses no threat to the Virgin Islands.
Meteorologist Robert Mitchell at the National Weather Service in San Juan explained that the storm has subtropical status because it formed north of what is considered the tropical region. If it had formed over our heads instead of near Bermuda, it would be called a tropical storm.
Subtropical Storm Nicole joins Tropical Storm Matthew on the forecasters' map. At the 5 a.m. update on Sunday, it was located about 90 miles southwest of Grand Isle, La.
Forecasters also think a tropical wave now located about 400 to 500 miles east of the Lesser Antilles is on the "no problem" list.
"A southwesterly wind flow will shear it and keep it away from the area," Mitchell said Sunday morning.
He said the region should see afternoon and early morning showers with some thunderstorms for the next couple of days.
However, with more than one-and-a-half months to go before the official end of hurricane season, residents still need to keep watching the weather. Storms can occur in October and even November.
Colorado State University forecaster William Gray and his team in September upped the number of storms expected during this extraordinary hurricane season to 16. With Subtropical Storm Nicole now on the map, that leaves two to go. The total of 16 was an increase over the 13 he expected for the season in his August forecast.
The long-term average stands at 9.6 named storms.
However, forecasting is an inexact science, and Gray and his team have been off by a few in previous hurricane seasons.
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