Area of low pressure could develop near Bermuda, National Hurricane Center says

An area of low pressure could form this week a few hundred miles east-northeast of Bermuda, National Hurricane Center forecasters said.

The system, which is forecast to drift southeast to northeast over the central Atlantic, “could acquire some subtropical or tropical characteristics during the middle to latter part of this week,” experts said in an outlook Monday.

It has been given a 30% chance of developing within the next seven days, according to Monday’s outlook.

Chances for further development are expected to be hindered as it moves over cooler waters this weekend.

Last week, meteorologists with Colorado State University upped their forecast to an “above normal” hurricane season in the Atlantic this year due to the “extreme anomalous warmth” of sea surface temperatures.

The intensifying effect of that warm water appears to be winning out over the tempering effects of El Niño, forecasters said in the report issued Thursday. The battle between the two weather patterns is incredibly rare, making predictions especially difficult this year.’

In the initial forecast released in April, CSU meteorologists called for 13 named storms and six hurricanes, two of which were expected to be major. In June, meteorologists increased their forecast to 15 named storms and seven hurricanes, three of them major.

The new forecast, announced Thursday, now predicts 18 named storms and nine hurricanes, four of which will be major. The forecast already includes an unnamed subtropical storm in January and Tropical Storms Arlene, Bret and Cindy in June.