Although Invest 96L is now unlikely to develop into a tropical depression, it will still bring rain to the eastern Caribbean this week. Photo: Weather Channel

This area of disturbed weather – tagged Invest 96L by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) – is located several hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles, moving west-northwestward.

According to the Weather Channel, dry air and wind shear have prevented Invest 96L from developing, and conditions are forecast to remain hostile the next several days.

The NHC now says there is no chance that Invest 96L will develop into a tropical depression in the next five days.

Invest 96L appeared to ingest some dry air from Africa known as a Saharan Air Layer last week, as The Weather Company meteorological scientist Dr Michael Ventrice noted Thursday morning, August 1, 2019.

Dry, sinking air disrupts tropical systems by suppressing thunderstorms and strengthening downdrafts of thunderstorms that do manage to form, not allowing thunderstorms to persist long enough near a surface low-pressure center to start the process of forming a tropical cyclone.

In addition, wind shear is also impacting this system. Wind shear is the change in wind speed and/or direction with height and can rip apart a tropical cyclone or a system that is trying to develop

Although Invest 96L is now unlikely to develop into a tropical depression, it will still bring rain to the eastern Caribbean this week. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands could see an uptick in locally heavy rain starting Tuesday night or Wednesday.