Panhandle Weather

Just when you were thinking the 2011 hurricane season was over, a subtropical storm forms in the Atlantic and threatens to move toward Bermuda.

Its name is Sean. Highest winds are 45 mph. Not much is expected in the way of strengthening – I guess not, seeing as how it’s November! The storm is drifting toward the northwest, in the vicinity of Bermuda, and is expected to turn toward the northeast later in the forecast period.

What’s a tropical storm? Well, it’s a hybrid that falls somewhere between a true tropical storm and a non-tropical low pressure area. Tropical storms have structural differences from extratropical lows. Sean falls somewhere in between, though forecasters wonder if it isn’t becoming purely tropical.

No worries with Sean – it’ll stay far away and likely won’t intensify to a hurricane. It’s just another oddity in a very odd year for tropical weather.

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