Ana

Satellite image of Tropical Storm Ana.

We have our first named storm of the season: Tropical Storm Ana. "Tropical Depression #2" strengthened, formed a circulation, and was upgraded overnight . I check the hurricane outlook daily. Until now I've mostly been reading the line "No tropical cyclone activity is expected in the next 48 hours." To which Jessee normally replies, "don't sound so disappointed!"

This storm has been out there for quite a while. It formed near the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa, gained a little strength, weakened, and ultimately gained strength again last night to become the season's first named storm. Currently the maximum sustained winds are 40 mph with gusts higher than that. The forecast predicts that it could hit the Leeward Islands on Monday, and possibly us on Tuesday! But error in the predicted track can be as much as 300 nautical miles for forecasts this far out.

To follow the progress of the storm you can visit the National Hurricane Center's website: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/