The National Hurricane Center on Thursday forecast the season’s next tropical depression or storm was likely to form from a tropical wave moving across the Atlantic.
As of the NHC’s 8 a.m. tropical outlook, the system located several hundred miles west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands had showers and thunderstorms that had begun to consolidate and become better organized.
“Environmental conditions are conducive for development of this system during the next several days, and a tropical depression is likely to form late this week or this weekend over central tropical Atlantic while moving slowly toward the west-northwest at 5 to 10 mph,” forecasters said. “The system is likely to move faster toward the west or west-northwest thereafter and reach the waters east of the Lesser Antilles by the middle of next week.”
The NHC gave it a 50% chance to develop in the next two days and 80% chance to develop in the next seven.
It’s too early to say if the system will have any impact on Florida.
If it develops, it would be the seventh tropical cyclone of the season and could become Tropical Storm Gabrielle.
The most recent, Tropical Storm Fernand, became post-tropical last week in the north Atlantic.
Only one of the six named storms has reached hurricane status. What had been Hurricane Erin, which grew to Category 5 major hurricane status with 160 mph winds, ended up not making landfall, but did prompt warnings in the Caribbean and U.S. Atlantic coast earlier this month.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in early August updated its season forecast to call for 13-18 named storms this year, of which five to nine would grow into hurricanes. Two to five of those would develop into major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.
The height of hurricane season runs from mid-August into October while the entire six-month season runs June 1 to Nov. 30.