An unusual tropical storm forming west of the island of the Azores has reached sufficient strength to be considered a hurricane. Is about Daniellewhich is also first storm of the season in the Atlantic, which is also strange because it was conceived outside the ordinary tropical zone, and which has all the features to follow its path until it collides with Europe.

The United States National Hurricane Center has determined that Danielle, after becoming a tropical cyclone, had strong gusts of wind that made it a category 1 hurricane, almost to level two next week, when it is expected to approach continental Europe, although the exact trajectory it will follow remains unclear. .

But the alarm didn’t go off, at least not yet on the Peninsula. The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), had detailed on Thursday that in Spain “the probability of very strong wind gusts associated with this tropical system is currently very low, less than 10%”, via its spokesman Rubén del Campo, who added that if damage is felt, they will only be seen at the northern tip of the peninsula.

Experts have agreed that the formation of tropical cyclones is odd, because it occurs “further north than usual.” Usually this disturbance occurs at lower latitudes, in tropical areas near the Gulf of Mexico or around Cape Verde. From the Caribbean to Africa, at least in the warm waters of this hemisphere, so it’s not uncommon for them to occur in the North Atlantic.

What’s the strength?

Danielle was born in the middle of the east coast of the United States and Canada and the coast of Europe, which has caught the attention of authorities on both sides of the pool. The US meteorological agency has said that through the weekend it looks likely to remain without major progress west of the Azores, only to turn northwest as early as next week, being able to approach Iceland or the UK at a similar pace. .

The storm’s intensity has risen to higher levels than experts expected, reaching winds of up to 120 kilometers per hour, which could increase in the coming days although there is no clear reason for alarm, authorities said.

It will be able to reach the second category, on a scale of five, when experts verify that its wind strength is oscillating between 154 and 177 kilometers per hour, when exactly it has left tropical storm conditions, leaving ranges of 63 and 118 kilometers in just a few days.

Meanwhile, experts are still waiting for any changes. Despite the modernity of the models and instruments used to predict natural events, the reality is that they all involve uncertainties and dynamics – and their own factors – that can alter the trajectory or even the strength of the phenomena.

tropical storm #Daniel it has strengthened rapidly and will continue to do so in the coming hours, finding favorable atmospheric conditions and very warm waters, although it has formed further north than usual. This will be the first storm of the season. pic.twitter.com/BwpBLJ4Ser

— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) September 2, 2022

It could arrive in Spain like a hurricane

The worst case scenario for Spain, but at the same time the least likely, is that it approaches the peninsula causing heavy rains, hurricanes and big waves.

Danielle is the first hurricane of the season, and apart from occurring outside the tropics where this phenomenon is common, it undoubtedly presents other anomalies. For example, the average date for the first storm of the season to appear is usually around August 11.

In fact, the last time a hurricane appeared this late was in 2013, with Hurricane Humberto in the Atlantic. In addition, during the month of August no named storms were recorded in the region, marking the milestone of something that hasn’t happened for 25 years, despite the fact that Aemet himself explained that the number of cyclones mentioned per season has increased in recent years, reaching an average an average of 14 each year, seven of which escalated into hurricanes, from 1991 to 2020.

Although appearing in a strange way, it is possible that on his journey through Europe he ended up with a characteristic factor of cold waters in the north compared to the warm, windless Caribbean currents.

Anomaly Tropical Storm #Daniel looks beautiful. It continues to surprise by showing a structure more typical of tropical cyclones that form at lower latitudes.

He even began to show his eyes, a sign that he was almost at the power of a storm. pic.twitter.com/pEoGfSwzqB

– JJ González Alemán (@glezjuanje) September 2, 2022

In this scenario, Danielle is expected to reach a weaker peninsula, such as Hurricane Leslie, in 2018, which reached Spain as a hurricane, despite the fact that it has a common origin in non-tropical areas, which is one of the most enduring. and that actually puts the Madeira archipelago on alert. @the whole world