We’ve now had seven named storms, and are still looking for the first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season.  After showing signs of promise with four tropical disturbances last week including two strong tropical lows in the Central and Eastern Atlantic respectively, only two named storms emerges with neither becoming a hurricane.

Tropical Storm Gert was the latest named storm to develop in the Atlantic Basin.  First forming as a depression late Saturday night some 360 miles to the South-Southeast of Bermuda, Gert became a storm in the mid-afternoon on Sunday.  The system reached peaked intensity on Monday morning with maximum sustained winds reaching 60 miles per hour while minimum central pressure dipped to 1000 millibars, or 29.53 inches of Hg.  Highest wind gusts were estimated to be at 70 miles per hour.

Tropical Storm Warnings had been issued for Bermuda, but Gert only brushed the tiny resort island late Monday afternoon with no major impacts.  By Tuesday morning, Gert had begun to weaken as it picked up forward speed, and moved into the cooler waters of the North Atlantic.  The National Hurricane Center then downgraded it to a post-tropical low late Tuesday afternoon.

There are still a couple areas of disturbed weather that we are watching in the Atlantic including a new tropical wave that just moved off the coast of Africa.  However, only a tropical wave in the Central Caribbean has slight chance of 30 percent to becoming a tropical cyclone within the next 48 hours according to the latest Tropical Weather Outlook by the NHC on Wednesday morning.