Ninth of the season tropical depression forms in the Atlantic ocean
02 Sep 2008
A new tropical depression has formed in the far eastern Atlantic ocean, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre . The new depression would be called Tropical Storm Ike once its maximum sustained winds reach 39 miles per hour, the hurricane centre added.
A storm with wind speeds of 39-73 mph is called a tropical storm. Once a depression becomes a tropical storm, the hurricane centre gives it a name.
The depression was located 170 miles (270 km) southeast of the Cape Verde Islands, off the coast of Africa. It is the ninth tropical depression of this year's busy Atlantic hurricane season and has maximum sustained winds of nearly 35 mph with powerful gusts.
The powerful Hurricane Gustav has already battered New Orleans and the US Gulf Coast and Tropical Storm Hanna swirled to the east of Miami in the last few days.
Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Centre predicts that hurricane Hanna's path and strength remains uncertain, and it is deveoping into a category 2 storm.
A hurricane is a storm with winds more than 74 mph. They are classified in categories of 1-5 according to wind speeds.
