Tropical Storm Cristóbal formed Wednesday over the central subtropical Atlantic, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported. The system, previously tracked as Invest 93L, is expected to be short-lived and could dissipate by Thursday. Cristóbal is separate from Invest 92L, a system under watch for possible indirect effects on Puerto Rico, which maintained an 80% probability of tropical development as of Wednesday.
At 5:00 PM. Puerto Rico time, Cristóbal’s center was near latitude 37.2°N, longitude 41.0°W, about 765 miles west of the Azores, moving east at about 21 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1,008 millibars; tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 80 miles from the center. No coastal watches or warnings are in effect.
The NHC expects the storm to turn east-northeast, slow down, and weaken due to cooler waters, drier mid-level air, and increased wind shear. Meanwhile, Invest 92L, located about 950 miles west-southwest of Cabo Verde, kept its 80% development probability for the next 48 hours (up from 60% Tuesday night) and also holds an 80% chance over seven days, and could become a tropical depression in coming days.