Rare twin tropical storms Philippe, Rina interact in the central Atlantic

ORLANDO, Fla. — Update:

We are currently monitoring two tropical storms in the Atlantic Ocean.

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Certified meteorologist Kassandra Crimi said they are both in a very “sheared environment,” which is preventing the storms from strengthening.

She said the storms’ close proximity to one another is making Tropical Storm Philippe move at an incredibly slow speed.

“It’s currently moving at 2 mph and won’t move much this weekend,” Crimi said. “We expect to see large swells, rough surf and life-threatening rip currents for the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgins Islands and Puerto Rico through the weekend.”

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Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Rina will continue to move north-northwest this weekend, but it will not strengthen much.

“We expect Rina to be a remnant low by early next week,” she said. “Both storms will stay over the Atlantic -- far away from Central Florida.”

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Afternoon forecast: Friday, Sept. 29 Afternoon forecast: Friday, Sept. 29

Earlier story:

The Atlantic tropics are still very active and normally stay that way through the end of October.

Channel 9 meteorologists are tracking two tropical storms that are spinning near each other in the central Atlantic.

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Tropical Storm Philippe and Tropical Storm Rina are both slowly moving to the west toward the Caribbean islands.

The storms are interacting together and could spin around each other.

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It’s rare to see two tropical systems near each other’s strength interact in this way.

Both storm systems should eventually drift to the north.

Philippe could strengthen into a hurricane as it drifts to the north.

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Rina is forecast to weaken over the next week.

Philippe and Rina should stay far away. No other areas of concern at this time.

Video: Rare twin tropical storms Philippe and Rina continue to interact in central Atlantic The Atlantic tropics are still very active and normally stay that way through the end of October. (WFTV)

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