Tropical Storm Odette formed off the coast of the mid-Atlantic U.S. on Friday evening (National Hurricane Center) (National Hurricane Center)
Tropical Storm Odette formed Friday evening off the mid-Atlantic coast, making it the 15th storm of the hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center said.
As of 5 p.m. it was located 225 miles southeast of Cape May N.J. and 525 miles south-southwest of Nantucket, Mass. Odette had 40 mph sustained winds and was moving northeast at 15 mph. As of now, it’s not expected to impact land but could create life-threatening surf and rip currents along the northeast U.S. and Canada.
“On the forecast track, the center of Odette will move away from the U.S. Mid-Atlantic coast and pass south of Atlantic Canada over the weekend,” forecasters said.
The storm is expected to transform into a non-tropical gale-force low Saturday or Saturday night while it is located south of Atlantic Canada. While not making landfall on the U.S. the system is predicted to bring high surf to portions of the southeast and mid-Atlantic U.S. this weekend.
Odette’s not the only disturbance the NHC is tracking.
First, the NHC is watching disorganized showers and thunderstorms associated with a low and a tropical wave located between the Cabo Verde Islands and the Lesser Antilles. Meteorologists are seeing better organization Friday and odds are 80% of the system becoming a tropical depression in the next two to five days. The system is expected to march west across the tropical Atlantic.
Finally, a tropical wave a few hundred miles south-southeast of the Cabo Verde Islands has a 20 percent chance of forming into a storm in the next two days and a 30% chance over the next five days, the NHC said.
If these systems form into tropical storms, they would be named Tropical Storms Peter and Rose. The 2021 season has already seen 14 named systems, including five hurricanes, three of which have been major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher.
Meanwhile, Nicholas continued to exacerbate the already weathered Louisiana, which is still recovering from a pass over with Hurricane Ida.
[Popular on OrlandoSentinel.com] Tropical Storms Peter and Odette likely to form; Nicholas dumps rain as it lingers ？
On Friday evening, Nicholas was about 70 miles northwest of Shreveport, La., with maximum sustained winds of 15 mph and moving north at 2 mph. Flash flood watches are in effect from southeast Louisiana, across southern Mississippi and southern Alabama, and into the Florida Panhandle.
The National Weather Service said heavy rains were likely through Saturday. In Louisiana, the rainfall complicated an already difficult recovery at homes ripped open by Ida on Aug. 29. Thousands remain without power in Texas and Louisiana.
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Nicholas dumped as much as 10 inches of rain on parts of Texas — and the weather service was checking reports of nearly 14 inches of rain in Galveston — after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane. Houston reported more than 6 inches. Parts of Louisiana received more than 10 inches of rain from the storm.
In Louisiana, the rain is forecast to linger for days.
There are still nearly 20,000 people without power in Texas, according to Poweroutage.US.
Jpedersen@orlandosentinel.com
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