For Henri, it's depression, then dissipation
Pity poor Henri. The eighth tropical storm of the 2009 season formed Tuesday in the Atlantic, and puffed up a bit, with top sustained winds reaching 50 mph. But almost immediately the storm began to weaken as it drifted closer to the northern Leeward Islands.
This morning, Henri was downgraded to a tropical depression, with top winds of barely 35 mph. And forecasters expect the storm will dissipate later today, and become just another tropical low skirting the northernmost islands of the Caribbean.
That's good news for residents, mariners and vacationers, of course. The 2009 season continues to prove a relatively mild one for the region, thanks in large measure to the El Nino conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which tend to suppress hurricane formation in the Atlantic.
Here is what may well be the final advisory on Henri. Here is the forecast storm track. And here is the view from space.
