Don becomes hurricane as it heads for cooler waters
Don isn't expected to be a hurricane for long as it moves north and begins to weaken through early next week.
Tropical Storm Don persists in Atlantic
Tropical Storm Don continues its looping track through the Atlantic Ocean.
MIAMI – Tropical Storm Don became Hurricane Don on Saturday, marking the first hurricane of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.
Formerly a subtropical depression, then designated a tropical depression when the storm transitioned into a fully-tropical system, and then becoming a tropical storm, Don now has sustained winds of 75 mph with higher gusts but is far from any land areas. Don was last estimated to be about 480 miles southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland. It is moving north at 12 mph.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TROPICAL STORM AND A SUBTROPICAL STORM?
(FOX Weather)
Hurricane Don is expected to stay on a northward track on Saturday, continuing its clockwise loop over the open waters of the central Atlantic, before eventually turning back to the east and becoming a tropical storm and eventually a post-tropical storm and depression as it moves into the colder North Atlantic waters next week.
The system does not pose any threat to the U.S.
(FOX Weather)
What's the difference between a subtropical storm and a tropical storm?
A subtropical storm has characteristics of both tropical and extratropical storms. Most of a subtropical storm's energy is derived from the clash of warm and cold air, but it doesn't have fronts and is cold-core in the upper levels of the atmosphere.
Like tropical storms, a subtropical storm has a well-defined center and a closed circulation. However, the area of maximum winds within the circulation is farther away from the center, and there is less symmetry, according to the National Weather Service.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TROPICAL STORM AND A SUBTROPICAL STORM?
The tropics have had a recent quiet spell as the Saharan dust season gets underway. The dust can hinder tropical development in the Atlantic Basin.