Tropical Depression One formed this week in the Atlantic just off the Mid-Atlantic coast. It's becoming almost commonplace for out-of-season systems to form in the Atlantic these days, as this is the third consecutive year with a May storm. However, TD 1, though it had potential, was not able to earn a name.
An area of low pressure was noted on Wednesday off the Southeast coast between Cape Hatteras and the Bahamas. There was only sporadic convection with the system, which is understandable considering water temperatures were only in the 70-75 F (25 C) range. Still, the circulation of the disturbance was obvious from the start. During the overnight hours on the morning of May 28, a burst of thunderstorms erupted near the center and by morning it had become the season's first tropical cyclone as Tropical Depression One, with the possibility to become yet another out-of-season named storm.
TD 1 was not able to maintain its convection for long. Despite the well-organized circulation, the water temperatures were just not warm enough to create enough atmospheric moisture and instability to sustain a tropical cyclone. As the depression moved northeast away from the coast, it began to encounter cooler waters - although it appeared to hug the north wall of the Gulf Stream for a time. In addition, wind shear increased as the system advanced further north, which stripped away the meager convection on the afternoon of May 29. The depression quickly degenerated to a naked, skeletal swirl of low clouds which was declared extratropical by the National Hurricane Center. The satellite image above left shows the remnants of TD 1 late in the afternoon on May 29. Although it is tempting to see a large region of clouds spiraling into the center of the remnant circulation at the center of the image, the depression was actually never that big and consists only of the small swirl of low clouds. Note also the region of clouds and showers to the southeast of the center - this is the remnant thunderstorm activity that was stripped from the depression by strong wind shear. The region of cloudiness to the north of the former depression is actually a bank of low clouds and fog which has formed over the cool Atlantic waters to the north of the Gulf Stream.
With TD 1 having lost its tropical characteristics, the remnant circulation will spin down this weekend before getting absorbed into a frontal zone, and activity in the tropical Atlantic will return to the usual quiet conditions. Hurricane season in the Atlantic officially begins on Monday, June 1.
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