The seventh tropical depression of the Atlantic Hurricane Season has formed about 1,360 miles east of the Virgin Islands. The first advisory from the National Hurricane Center projects tropical storm development and a path that brings the storm close to St. Croix by Tuesday afternoon.
Hurricane forecasters Saturday upgraded an area of low pressure associated with a westward-moving tropical wave to tropical depression status after late afternoon satellite pictures showed enough circulation and sufficiently organized showers and thundershowers.
Hurricane specialist Lixion Avila said Saturday afternoon that all conditions favor further development.
At 5 p.m., the center of the depression was located near 12.4 degrees north latitude, 45.5 degrees west longitude with top winds of 35 miles per hour. "There are higher gusts and the depression is expected to be upgraded on Sunday to Tropical Storm Debby," Avila said said from the National Hurricane Center in Florida.
"The depression has a lot of showers and thundershowers on most sides, there is no shearing to block development and the ocean temperature is warm enough to feed or energize this depression," he said.
Avila added that the initial motion is uncertain due to the current broad circulation associated with the depression. "This circulation is existing primarily because the center of the depression is still in the formative stages," he said.
Avila encouraged all those in the Lesser Antilles including the U.S. and British Virgin Islands to closely monitor the progress of this newly formed depression.
The depression is moving to the west at about 17 miles per hour, with estimated central pressure at 1007 millibars or 29.74 inches.
Advisories are being issued every six hours by the National Hurricane Center.
