- “This is the most significant threat to the continental US that we’ve had this hurricane season.”
- The system was located near the northeast coast of South America on Wednesday.
- Most computer forecast models have the system heading north into the Gulf of Mexico by the middle of next week.
A developing tropical system could become a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico by the middle of next week, forecasters warned Wednesday.
“This is the most significant threat to the continental US that we’ve had this hurricane season,” said AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter.
The system, now known as Invest 98L, was located near the northeast coast of South America on Wednesday.
An “inversion” is an area the National Hurricane Center is watching closely with advanced computer models and other resources, including Hurricane Hunters, for possible development, according to Weather.com.
Tropical storm in the Caribbean
Most computer models predict the system will be a tropical storm by the weekend in the Caribbean. Models then show the system strengthening into a hurricane early next week. If it becomes a named storm, it would be called Hermine.
According to Weather.com, most computer forecast models have the system, likely at hurricane strength, heading north into the Gulf of Mexico by the middle of next week.
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Hurricane in the Gulf?
Meteorologist Ryan Maue tweeted Wednesday that if the GFS computer model is correct, “then this is what we’re dealing with: a major hurricane in the eastern Gulf of Mexico with impacts on the Florida Panhandle. But, all interests along the Gulf Coast from Houston to Key West should be monitored in the coming days as we learn more.”
According to AccuWeather, this system does not appear to be a threat to areas of the northeastern Caribbean, including Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, which were hit hard by Hurricane Fiona over the past few days.
In addition to Fiona, which will graze Bermuda and then head toward eastern Canada this week, forecasters were also monitoring Tropical Storm Gaston in the Atlantic Ocean. Gaston could bring strong winds and strong waves to the Azores later this week, the National Hurricane Center said.
