Bret weakens to a tropical depression off the U.S. East Coast

Bret weakens to a tropical depression off the U.S. East Coast

2011-07-22 10:38:06 GMT+7 (ICT)

MIAMI (BNO NEWS) -- Tropical Storm Bret weakened to a tropical depression off the U.S. East Coast on late Thursday evening, forecasters said. The system is expected to dissipate soon.

Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) have been following the weather system since Saturday morning when it emerged off the coast of Florida. It strengthened into a tropical storm on Sunday evening.

As of 11 p.m. AST on Thursday (0300 GMT Friday), the center of Bret was located about 420 miles (677 kilometers) east of Kill Devil Hills, a town in Dare County, North Carolina. It is moving toward the northeast near 14 miles (22 kilometers) per hour.

"The system lost essentially all of its deep convection several hours ago, and it is estimated that Bret has now weakened to a tropical depression," said NHC senior hurricane specialist Richard Pasch. "The environment is expected to remain hostile for the maintenance of a tropical cyclone with strong shear and cooling waters, and the cyclone is forecast to degenerate into a remnant low in about 36 hours. However, given the current status of Bret, the system could lose its tropical cyclone status much sooner than that."

As of Thursday evening, maximum sustained winds of Bret are near 35 miles (55 kilometers) per hour, with higher gusts. The storm is not impacting any land, being it too far away from both the U.S. coast and Bermuda.

Bret is the second named storm of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season but was followed by Tropical Storm Cindy which remains active in the far northeast Atlantic. Cindy, also not affecting land, is expected to weaken over the next few days until it dissipated on Saturday or Sunday.

According to figures released in May, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center is expecting an above-normal hurricane season in the Atlantic this year. The outlook calls for 12 to 18 named storms, with six to ten becoming hurricanes and three to six expected to become a major hurricane (category 3 or higher).

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 11 named storms, with six becoming hurricanes and two becoming major hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, with peak activity in September.

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