Tropical Storm Bill is expected to weaken later on Tuesday after moving rapidly over the last 24 hours north-eastward, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory.
“Little change in strength is expected today, but Bill is forecast to become a post-tropical low by this evening and dissipate on Wednesday,” the NHC said.
The storm is about 295 miles southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, packing maximum sustained winds of 60 mph, according to the NHC.
Bill strengthened from a tropical depression and formed into a tropical storm off the coast of North Carolina late on Monday. The system was already expected by NHC officials to be a short-lived storm.
It is not expected that it will pose a threat to people or damage any land or property, officials said.
Tropical Depression Two intensified to Tropical Storm #Bill this evening with 45 mph winds about 335 miles ENE of Cape Hatteras, NC. Some further intensification is possible before the system becomes post-tropical, accelerating NE away from the US coast.https://t.co/wLR6aP1c65 pic.twitter.com/eZgbb3F6Dj
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) June 15, 2021
Weather forecasts have also indicated that a third tropical depression could become a tropical storm—which will be named Claudette.
Claudette is expected to form quickly in the Gulf of Mexico by the end of this week once Bill fades in the next approximately 24 hours.
The storm system may bring heavy rain and strong upper-level winds to the western and central Gulf Coast states from Houston to New Orleans.
Bill is the second tropical storm of the 2021 season after Tropical Storm Ana—the first named storm in the Atlantic this year—formed northeast of Bermuda last month.
Meteorologists have announced they expect the season this year to be busy, but not at the same level as last year’s.
Reuters contributed to this report.