Around August 15, a tropical wave emerged off of the coast of Africa into the tropical Atlantic. During the next week, the modest tropical wave plodded west across the Atlantic. It exhibited some spin on satellite imagery, but never developed a closed circulation. The system veered northwest around the 20th and missed the Lesser Antilles to their northeast. Conditions turned more favorable in the subtropics and the disturbance finally was able to develop into Tropical Storm Fernand on August 23.
The storm battled some mid-level dry air over the next couple of days and moved northward into a weakness in the subtropical ridge, passing well east of Bermuda on the 24th. Fernand found the opportunity to intensify some that day and the next, though it never was a very symmetric tropical storm: the center remained on the northwest edge of the convection and the circulation appeared rather elongated on satellite imagery. Nevertheless, the storm's winds peaked at 60 mph on August 25.
Fernand turned northeast and began to weaken. Its thunderstorm activity evaporated as it moved over cooler water into a drier air mass. On the 26th, it moved over a warm eddy of the Gulf stream and rebounded enough to maintain tropical storm status, jogging eastward. This resurgence was short-lived, however. Soon Fernand crossed into much colder water and completed post-tropical transition early in the morning on August 28. Its remnants dissipated soon afterward.
The image above shows Fernand as a moderately strong tropical storm beset by shear over the subtropical Atlantic.
Fernand did not affect any land areas.
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