Tropical Storm Fiona on course for Hispaniola, seen taking northerly course

Quantum Commodity Intelligence - Weather watchers and energy traders are tracking the path of a weather system that Thursday became the sixth named storm of the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane season, which is currently moving towards the Leeward Islands.

Tropical storm Fiona is located over 700 miles east of Puerto Rico and moving to the west at 15-20 mph toward the Leeward Islands and is expected to bring torrential rains and gusty winds of 40-50 mph to the US and British Virgin Island along with Puerto Rico on Friday.

However, weather watchers said that Fiona would need some dry air, westerly shear and the mountainous terrain of Hispaniola to have any chance of becoming a hurricane-strength storm rather than the current mild tropical storm.

Most intensity forecast models keep it as a tropical storm over the next five days due to the hostile conditions.

The 2022 season has been one of the quietest of recent years for energy markets, with the Gulf of Mexico largely free of significant storm activity.

Most models have Fiona veering northwards once she reaches Hispaniola and away from the Gulf, although there is a small chance of maintaining a westerly path.

Should the storm maintain a westerly path after the mountains of Haiti, Florida would be the most likely US landfall State. It would need to be a significant storm to survive over a second landmass and reform again in the Gulf.