Tropical Depression Forms Far From Land In Eastern Atlantic

MIAMI (AP) -- A tropical depression formed Monday in the far eastern Atlantic, the fourth of the Atlantic hurricane season, meteorologists said. <br/><br/>At 11 p.m. EDT, the depression was centered about

Monday, August 13th 2007, 10:17 pm

By: News On 6

MIAMI (AP) -- A tropical depression formed Monday in the far eastern Atlantic, the fourth of the Atlantic hurricane season, meteorologists said.

At 11 p.m. EDT, the depression was centered about 740 miles west-southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands, and moving west near 20 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was still about 1,780 miles east of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean.

Its maximum sustained wind speed was about 35 mph, forecasters said. It would be named Tropical Storm Dean if its sustained wind strengthens to at least 39 mph, the threshold for a named storm.

Hurricane forecasters expect this year's hurricane season to be busier than average. Last week, they said up to 16 tropical storms are likely to form, with nine of them becoming hurricanes.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, but August typically marks the start of the most active period. Last year, there were 10 tropical storms in the Atlantic and just two made landfall in the United States.