Hurricanes Nigel and Lee are now history, but their consequences are still being felt, not only in North America but also in Europe. This is the third time in just a month that the effects of North Atlantic cyclones have reached the European coasts after the post-cyclonic storm Franklin was felt on the Peninsula.
The turn of the British Isles. The United Kingdom and Ireland are experiencing an episode of heavy rain. Although the situation has calmed down, British authorities have maintained flood risk alerts in force.
Behind these rains is a succession of hurricanes, Lee and Nigel. Although both have now lost hurricane status, their effects continue to be felt in the North Atlantic.
“Almost normal” season. On the eve of this hurricane season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was predicting an almost normal hurricane season, just a little more intense than usual.
However, in recent weeks storms associated with three hurricanes (Franklin, Lee and Nigel) have reached European coasts. Unlike Lee and Nigel, Franklin approached Europe through the Iberian Peninsula, affecting the Galician coast just a few days after the passage of the last DANA.
How does it affect us? It is possible that the succession of storms will leave rain throughout next week in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The British Isles are bearing the brunt of these storms, but the associated rain is likely to reach the coast of Galicia again.
According to the models of the European Center for Medium Range Forecasting (ECMWF), rains associated with this succession of hurricanes could reach the northwest of the peninsula. These rains would not be as intense as those experienced these days in the British Isles but it is still too early to know with certainty what will happen next week.
In any case, the storms are not expected to reach northern Europe and will only affect the southwest of the continent “in a flash.” The Canary Islands have also been able to “dodge” the influence of these storms.
Ofelia’s turn. The hurricane season has not ended and at the same time that Lee and Nigel are making their presence known in Europe, another storm could acquire the category of hurricane: Ophelia.
Tropical cyclone number 16 is being monitored by NOAA, an agency that estimates that the probability of the storm becoming a cyclone in the coming days is greater than 60%.
Ofelia is located off the coast of the state of Georgia and is moving north, following a route similar to that followed by Lee. Predictably, this future cyclone will move along the east coast of the United States, reaching, according to the latest forecasts, the northeast of the country and potentially causing flooding in the region.
In Xataka | It’s time to talk about the “San Miguel summer” for what it really is: an urban legend
Imagen | ECMWF
