Emily weakens further as it heads north in the Atlantic

Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Barely lasting a day as the fifth named tropical storm of the hurricane season, Emily was downgraded Monday to a remnant by the National Hurricane Center.

Emily formed late Sunday about 1,105 miles west-northwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, packing maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and heading west-northwest at about 9 mph.

By 11 a.m. EDT, the forecast categorized Emily as a post-tropical cyclone with winds near 35 mph, though stronger guests are expected. The storm is expected to continue moving north-northwest throughout the week.

"Slow weakening is expected during the next couple of days," the forecast read. "There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect."

Emily was the fifth named storm of the season as of Sunday morning. The season so far has been mild, though the remaining weeks of August could be ominous. Numerous tropical features are showing some level of promise for development this week.

Forecasters at AccuWeather are calling for a moderate-to-high chance of development early this week for not one tropical wave, but several across the central Atlantic and into the Gulf of Mexico.

A tropical wave tracked westward over the Florida Peninsula throughout the day on Sunday, bringing showers, thunderstorms and rough surf to the area.

That wave was expected to move westward across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and stands a high chance of developing into a short-lived tropical rainstorm as it tracks westward toward Texas and northeast Mexico.

"This feature will not have much time to develop before it likely moves into South Texas, although it will be moving across very warm water which can aid in rapid development," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.

But apart from excessive heat and red-flag warnings across the U.S. South, there are few warnings of severe weather across the region.