Tropical Storm Odette moves away from the US; Peter likely to form while Nicholas fizzles

Joe Mario Pedersen, David Harris, Lisa Maria Garza and Nelly Ontiveros, Orlando Sentinel
·2 min read

ORLANDO, Fla. — Tropical Storm Odette, which formed Friday evening off the mid-Atlantic coast, is forecast to bring strong winds to the northeast U.S. and Canada as a post-tropical cyclone later today, the National Hurricane Center said.

As of 11 a.m., Odette was located 235 miles southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and 460 miles southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Odette is moving northeast at 17 mph with 45 mph sustained winds. As of now, it’s not expected to impact land but could create life-threatening surf and rip currents along the northeast U.S. and Canada.

“On the forecast track, the center of Odette will pass south of Atlantic Canada on Sunday and Monday,” forecasters said.

The storm is expected to transform into a strong post-tropical cyclone Saturday night while it is located south of Atlantic Canada. While not making landfall on the U.S. the system is predicted to bring high surf to portions of the southeast and mid-Atlantic U.S. this weekend.

Odette’s not the only disturbance the NHC is tracking.

First, the NHC is watching disorganized showers and thunderstorms associated with a tropical wave located about 650 miles east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands. Meteorologists give the system a 90% chance of becoming a tropical depression in the next two to five days. The system is expected to march west across the tropical Atlantic.

Finally, a tropical wave a few hundred miles south of the Cabo Verde Islands has a 50% chance of forming into a storm in the next two to five days, the NHC said.

If these systems form into tropical storms, they would be named Tropical Storms Peter and Rose. The 2021 season has already seen 14 named systems, including five hurricanes, three of which have been major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher.

Although the NHC stopped tracking Nicholas, the post-tropical cyclone continued to exacerbate the already weathered Louisiana, which is still recovering from a pass over with Hurricane Ida.

Nicholas dumped as much as 10 inches of rain on parts of Texas — and the weather service was checking reports of nearly 14 inches of rain in Galveston — after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane. Houston reported more than 6 inches. Parts of Louisiana received more than 10 inches of rain from the storm.

In Louisiana, the rain is forecast to linger for days.