Two (2014)

A small low pressure area that moved off the west coast of Africa on 17 July gradually organized into a closed circulation about 250 nautical miles west of the Cape Verde Islands. The National Hurricane Center estimated that Tropical Depression Two formed at 1200 UTC on 21 July 2014 in the central tropical Atlantic. The system moved westward over the next two days into a dry, stable environment and weakened to an open trough by 1800 UTC on 23 July, never reaching the Lesser Antilles.

The system did not make any landfalls. It remained over open water from formation until dissipation and its remnants continued westward across the Caribbean Sea without producing significant organized weather associated with the cyclone.

The depression’s peak analyzed intensity was 30 kt (about 35 mph) with a minimum central pressure of 1012 mb. While an ASCAT satellite pass showed a single wind vector of 35 kt, the NHC judged that the observation was likely unrepresentative, so the system was kept as a tropical depression in the best track.

Storm surge and heavy rainfall were not reported as impacts from this system. No surge heights or notable rainfall totals were associated with Tropical Depression Two in the NHC report, and the cyclone dissipated before affecting land.

There were no reported deaths or significant damage attributable to this depression. The primary impacts were limited to the observation and analysis of a weak, short-lived tropical cyclone over the central Atlantic.

Of note, the storm’s formation was not well-forecast in advance: NHC tropical weather outlooks only began showing a low (<30%) chance of genesis modestly in advance (as early as 18 hours in the 48-hour outlook and 42 hours in the 120-hour outlook), and forecasters correctly anticipated that the environment would not support much development.