While it’s worth watching a possible one off in the dead tropical Atlantic portion of the MDR and perhaps something weak in the central Atlantic for TC genesis, obviously the western Caribbean is the place to pay closest attention.
The homebrew signal I’ve been talking about since late August has evolved over the last week. Originally, the signal was for genesis potential off the SE coast and in the Gulf due to stalled frontal boundaries from anomalously strong late summer troughs. That led to our three invests, one which hit NS as a non tropical cyclone, one which became a PTC but fell just short of a tropical designation, and one that helped seed what became Hurricane Francine.
Now we’re looking at a CAG signal, which as I’ve said before is a more tropical genesis pathway than what we formerly had. These can spin up one (most likely) or two TCs. While the ceilings are usually low, this environment seems like it has higher end potential given the extent of OHC, instability, and low wind shear—one area of the cool neutral ENSO that did come to fruition from the hyperactive seasonal forecasts.
Everything remains on the table, and I think anyone in the Gulf and to a lesser extent folks on the EC should be paying attention to this.