The quiet weather forecast across the Atlantic Basin for the next two weeks could test the adage of "calm before the storm," forecasters say. Tropical Storm Fernand was headed into open waters of the central Atlantic, more than 600 miles east-northeast of Bermuda, the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday. No storm watches or warnings were in effect, and the center had little else to report from the Atlantic Basin - the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf and parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Still, Alex DaSilva, lead hurricane expert for AccuWeather, said the hurricane season that began June 1 and ends Nov. 30 could heat up soon. "Sometimes you can get these lulls in the middle of the hurricane season, and it looks like we are going to be having one, at least across the main (storm) development region," DaSilva said. DaSilva said there would be a lot of "sinking air," which can tamp down storm development, through the full first week of September. Toward the second week, however, "there' 's going to be a lot of vertical motion I think. And so we are going to have to watch those tropical waves very carefully, (it) could be like flipping switch in the Atlantic." For now, though, even some tropical waves developing farther east in the Atlantic are being tamped down by dry air, he said. The feel of fall across Midwest, East:Searing heat grips Pacific Northwest Tropical Storm Fernand, which tracked through the central Atlantic behind Hurricane Erin, was weakening Tuesday with maximum sustained winds of about 45 mph. The weather service said gradual weakening was likely to continue, with Fernand forecast to become a post-tropical cyclone on Wednesday without making landfall. AccuWeathermeteorologists had initially warned that the storm should be closely monitored for development. But the storm has "trended away" from Bermuda, DaSilva said. "A couple days ago we thought maybe it could get a little bit closer, to potentially bring some impacts," DaSilva said. "The good news is it has trended east. Nothing to worry about with this one. This one is going out to sea." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Hurricane season forecast for August is quiet; look out for September
