Another Major Hurricane Just Formed In The Atlantic, With List Of Storm Names Close To Running Out
Topline
Hurricane Sam strengthened to a Category 3 storm late Saturday morning, making it the fourth major hurricane in the Atlantic in the past five weeks, while the threat of even more Atlantic storms over the coming days means this year’s storm list could be exhausted with more than two months left in the Atlantic hurricane season.
Hurricane Sam became a major hurricane over the open central Atlantic Ocean late Saturday morning.
NOAA
Key Facts
Hurricane Sam rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to a major hurricane in just 36 hours, and now packs maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The central Atlantic storm remains about 1,000 miles away from the Leeward Islands of the eastern Caribbean, which it’s expected to pass north of.
The National Hurricane Center projects Sam will maintain major hurricane intensity for at least the next five days, with the storm reaching Category 4 status within the next 24 hours, joining Hurricane Ida as the only storms to reach that strength so far this season.
Sam is expected to be a strong and long-lived storm, but any threat to the U.S. remains far off—the storm is forecast to be over open water in five days, hundreds of miles from the nearest Caribbean Island.
Crucial Quote
“Environmental conditions support further strengthening in the short term, and Sam is expected to become a category 4 hurricane by Sunday,” the National Hurricane Center said.
What To Watch For
Another storm, Subtropical Depression Teresa, is expected to dissipate about 150 miles north of Bermuda on Saturday, but the National Hurricane Center is monitoring two more systems that could develop over the next week or so, though neither would be an imminent threat to land. Just two more named storms would exhaust the designated storm list of 21 names for this season, requiring the National Hurricane Center to dip into its list of auxiliary names for the first time. Prior to this season, storms were named after letters of the Greek alphabet if the normal list ran out, which happened only twice, in 2005 and 2021. Meteorologists decided to end the practice on the grounds that the names of some Greek letters were too similar, causing confusion among the public. Hurricane season ends November 30.
Key Background
The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season is poised to be yet another for the record books. Storms are forming faster than any season since record keeping started in 1851, except for one—2020, which was the most active on record, with 30 named storms. The strongest and by far most devastating storm this season has been Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in Louisiana on August 29 with 150 mph sustained winds, tying it as the most powerful storm in terms of wind speed to ever hit the state. Coastal communities were largely destroyed, while electricity was knocked out to parts of the New Orleans metropolitan area for weeks. Most of the storm’s deaths came in New York and New Jersey, though, where at least 48 people died in historic flooding.
Further Reading
New Orleans Regains Partial Power After Hurricane Ida But Full Return Could Take Weeks Or More (Forbes)
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