Tropical Storm Chris Weakens on Path Toward Cuba
Date: 04-Aug-06
Country: US
Author: Jane Sutton
Strong winds in the upper atmosphere sheared off the top of the storm, robbing Chris of its punch. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said it was expected to dissipate by Friday into a tropical depression, a gusty mass of showers.
At 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), Chris was about 195 miles (315 km) east-southeast of Grand Turk Island, the capital island of the Turks and Caicos chain southeast of the Bahamas.
It was heading west-northwest near 10 miles per hour (17 kph), a track that would take it north of the Dominican Republic and Haiti on Friday and over Cuba on Sunday.
Its top sustained winds had slowed to near 40 mph (65 kph), making Chris just barely a tropical storm.
Tropical storm watches were still in effect for the north coast of the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos and the islands of the southeastern Bahamas, where the main concern was heavy rainfall.
The remnants of the storm were expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, the forecasters said.
Energy prices eased as the storm weakened. Oil and natural gas prices had risen on the possible threat to drilling platforms and exploration rigs in the Gulf, where hurricanes Katrina and Rita fueled up on unusually warm water before slamming into Louisiana and Texas last year.
The 2005 hurricanes shut a quarter of US crude output and sent oil prices to record highs.
Experts have predicted this year could see another active Atlantic hurricane season, though nothing like the record number seen in 2005. Chris was the third tropical storm of the 2006 season.
Forecasters lowered their activity predictions for this year on Thursday. The Colorado State University team formed by pioneer researcher William Gray predicted up to 15 tropical storms would form in the Atlantic-Caribbean basin, with seven growing into hurricanes.
Earlier forecasts had anticipated up 17 tropical storms, with nine strengthening into hurricanes, but the tropical oceans were cooler than last year and wind patterns were less conducive to storm development, they said.
Last year saw a record 28, including Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in US history. Katrina killed more than 1,300 people.