Tropical Storm Kenneth forms in the Eastern Pacific, expected to strengthen
November 21st, 2011 - 4:22 pm ICT by BNO NewsMIAMI (BNO NEWS) — Tropical Storm Kenneth formed far off the Pacific coast of Mexico on Sunday afternoon, forecasters said, and the system is expected to become a rare late season hurricane later on Monday.
Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) Have been following the weather system since Wednesday morning when it emerged as a broad area of disturbed weather several hundred miles (kilometers) south of the coast of Guatemala. It slowly became better organized as it moved westward.
As of 1 a.m. PST (0900 GMT) on Monday, the center of Kenneth was located about 740 miles (1,190 kilometers) south of the southern tip of Baja California in Mexico. It is moving toward the west at a speed near 14 miles (22 kilometers) per hour, and the system is expected to stay far away from any land.
Maximum sustained winds of Kenneth are near 65 miles (100 kilometers) per hour, with higher gusts. “Kenneth has been rapidly intensifying for the past 12 hours and this trend could continue for another 12-18 hours given the low vertical shear conditions expected,” said NHC senior hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart.
“However, a well pronounced dry slot has developed in the eastern semicircle and has wrapped into the inner core, and this dry air could briefly interrupt the strengthening process,” Stewart added. “Regardless of the effects of dry air, Kenneth is expected to become a hurricane within the next 12-24 hours, and steady intensification is forecast for the next 36-48 hours while the cyclone remains over warm water and in a low shear and moist surrounding environment.”
NHC models show Kenneth is likely to become a hurricane on late Monday morning or early Monday afternoon, and the system may briefly reach category two strength before weakening begins on Wednesday. This weakening will likely reduce Kenneth to a tropical storm by Thursday.
Kenneth is the eleventh named storm of the 2011 Eastern Pacific hurricane season, following Tropical Depression Twelve-E which formed south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec on October 12 and left more than 80 people killed in South America.
An average Eastern Pacific hurricane season produces 15 to 16 named storms, with eight to nine becoming hurricanes and four becoming major hurricanes. The Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 through November 30, with peak activity from July through September.
- Tropical Storm Aletta forms far off Mexico's Pacific coast, no threat - May 15, 2012
- Tropical Storm Eugene forms in the Pacific, no threat to land - Jul 31, 2011
- Category four hurricane Hilary could threaten Baja California - Sep 24, 2011
- Hurricane Katia strengthens into a major category four hurricane - Sep 06, 2011
- Tropical Storm Dora forms south of Guatemala, expected to become a hurricane - Jul 19, 2011
- Bermuda cancels tropical storm warning as Gert turns to the northeast - Aug 16, 2011
- Tropical depression forms in the far eastern Atlantic, may threaten the Caribbean - Aug 29, 2011
- Tropical Storm Katia forms in the far eastern Atlantic, set to become major hurricane - Aug 30, 2011
- Tropical depression forms in the western Caribbean Sea, heads for Honduras - Aug 19, 2011
- Tropical Storm Jose passes west of Bermuda - Aug 29, 2011
- Tropical storm Beatriz forms off the Pacific coast of Mexico; hurricane watch issued - Jun 20, 2011
- Tropical Storm Emily forms in the Caribbean, heads for the Dominican Republic - Aug 02, 2011
- More than 800,000 without power as Hurricane Irene slams Puerto Rico - Aug 22, 2011
- Tropical Storm Lee forms in the Gulf of Mexico, heads for Louisiana - Sep 03, 2011
- Tropical storm Bret forms near the Bahamas, watch in effect - Jul 18, 2011
Tags: bno, dry slot, early monday, eastern pacific hurricane, forecasters, hurricane specialist, inner core, intensification, kilometers per hour, maximum sustained winds, miles kilometers, national hurricane center, nhc, semicircle, shear conditions, southern tip, stacy stewart, tropical storm kenneth, vertical shear, weather system