Ingrid is born, the runt of the litter
Tropical Depression Eight showed just enough life late last night to become the eighth named tropical storm of the 2007 Atlantic season - Ingrid. But the poor thing has been having considerable difficulty getting her breath.
Ingrid is drifting slowly in the Atlantic, moving toward the west northwest at 7 mph, hundreds of miles east of the Leeward Islands. Top sustained winds are just barely tropical storm strength at 45 mph, and Ingrid is expected to get weaker. The problem is that she is moving into a region of stronger wind shear, which forecasters this morning described this way:
"...A DAGGER THROUGH THE HEART. THEREFORE...A GRADUAL
WEAKENING IS FORECAST. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT INGRID WILL NOT LAST
THROUGH FIVE DAYS. IN FACT...THE CLOUD PATTERN HAS ALREADY BEGUN
TO DETERIORATE SINCE THIS MORNING'S CLASSIFICATIONS."
Here's the latest advisory. Here's the forecast storm track. And here's a satellite view of the storm's water vapor. Ingrid is the blob at lower right. Looks like a greater threat to Bermuda than the continental U.S.
