September 25, 2013 Erin Struggling in the Atlantic

By By Courtney Spamer, Meteorologist September 25, 2013, 12:52:51 AM EDT

Erin remains a tropical depression as it battles a combination of dry air, cool ocean water and wind shear.

Erin will continue to churn across the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean through Sunday night in an area over 1,000 miles to the west of the Cape Verde Islands.

AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski recently noted that, "Erin is moving through a less moist and more stable area than the one it formed in,"







Erin became a tropical storm early Thursday morning, making it the fifth named tropical storm in the 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Since then, Erin has fluctuated between a tropical storm and a tropical depression with sustained winds now at 35 mph.

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Erin will never pose a threat to the United States as it continues to take a westerly track into hostile environmental conditions.





Erin will likely transition into a tropical rainstorm by Sunday night.

Despite Erin's struggle to stay organized, conditions are quickly becoming more favorable in the Atlantic for development, which is typical for mid- to late August.

Over the past week, the strong, opposing wind shear has weakened across the tropics. Furthermore, the dry, Saharan air off the African coast has begun to dissipate.

The disintegration of these factors will lead to an uptick of storms in the Atlantic Basin in the coming weeks.

Content contributed by Andy Mussoline, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist

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