Tropical Storm Hanna Forms Over Atlantic, Stays Offshore

Tropical Storm Hanna formed over the central subtropical Atlantic on Monday, September 28, with sustained winds near 45 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Forecasters said the storm was over open water and posed no threat to land, and expected little change in strength over the next several days. The hurricane center classified Hanna as a tropical storm after satellite wind observations indicated that the system had developed a closed center of circulation. At the time of the agency’s first advisory, it was moving east across the Atlantic. One report placed it about 870 miles east-northeast of Bermuda; that location was not specified in the agency’s advisory details summarized in the other accounts. Forecasters described an environment unfavorable for significant strengthening. Strong westerly wind shear was pushing the storm’s deeper thunderstorms east of its center, and the shear was expected to persist for several days. The hurricane center also cited dry air as a factor that could further weaken Hanna. Forecasts differed in how specifically they described the storm’s expected decline.