Sea surface temperatures along much of the United States coastline and North Atlantic Ocean exceed the historical levels for July 1. Surface temperatures of eighty degrees now extend far along North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The Bermuda High has generally been in a westerly position which, if sustained, correlates with more exposure in the Gulf and less along the Atlantic coastline.

This past Tuesday, June 28, marked the first tropical storm of the 2011 season. Arlene made landfall on June 30 near Tampico, Mexico, approximately 300 miles south of the U.S. border, with 65 mph sustained wind speeds. We do not expect this storm to produce significant property losses.

There are no other tropical systems active today. Our next scheduled report will be on July 15 for our Tropical Weather edition and August 1st for the Northeast and Gulf editions.