The bothersome Saharan dust plume has

proved to be a nuisance for both humans and storms as Gonzalo has slightly

weakened on its approach to the Caribbean.

According to the Met Office of Trinidad and

Tobago, the Sahara dust around Tropical Storm Gonzalo is responsible for the

stunted development and intensification anticipated on Thursday afternoon (July

23).

By this time, Gonzalo was already forecast

to have strengthened into a category one hurricane, however, the system now has

maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometres/hour.

As at 2:00 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST),

Tropical Storm Gonzalo was located at latitude 9.7 North and longitude 48.8

West—or 1,370 kilometres east of the southern Windward Islands.

The hurricane watch advisory for Barbados

and St Vincent and the Grenadines remains in effect as the National Hurricane

Center (NHC) indicated that Gonzalo continues to churn westerly at 22

kilometres/hour.

Interestingly, the Saharan dust may have an

additional effect on Tropical Storm Gonzalo as the Florida-based NHC noted that

the system is much smaller in size than anticipated; with storm-force winds

only extending 35 kilometres from its centre.

The NHC warned that there is still a chance

Gonzalo could develop into the first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic season.

“Satellite-derived wind data indicate that

maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher

gusts.  Some re-strengthening is possible

during the next couple of days, and there is still a chance that Gonzalo could

become a hurricane,” the NHC advisory remarked.

“The satellite wind data indicate that

Gonzalo is an even smaller storm than previously thought, and tropical-storm-force

winds only extend outward up to 25 miles (35 km) from the centre,” it

continued.