Hurricane forecasters eyes on the Caribbean as new potential Gulf threats brew

Forecasters are watching another tropical storm system brewing not far from where Hurricane Helene formed last week before leaving a trail of devastation from Florida to Virginia.The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is monitoring a low pressure system forming over the western Caribbean Sea, with a 50% chance of formation over the next seven days. “Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for additional development thereafter while the system moves generally northwestward, and a tropical depression could form by the middle of next week as the system enters the Gulf of Mexico,” the NHC said.The potential storm system, which will be named Tropical Storm Kirk if it forms, could join Hurricane Isaac and Tropical Storm Joyce in the Atlantic, though experts believe Isaac and Joyce have very little chance of making landfall.If the low pressure system does become a storm, the NHC predicts its path would move northwest into the Gulf of Mexico, potentially impact the northwest Caribbean Sea and the US Gulf Coast, which is still recovering from Helene’s deadly aftermath. Helene made landfall in Florida on Thursday as a Category 4, and was the strongest ever storm to make landfall in Florida’s Big Bend Region.According to Reuters, the storm caused at least 60 deaths across South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

Over 2.4 million homes are still without power. Though the NHC is monitoring the storm system, meteorologists say it’s too soon to make any concrete predictions.“If you have a beach trip planned, there is absolutely no need to change any plans now.Just watch for updates,” meteorologist James Spann wrote on X.As of Sunday afternoon, Isaac is forecasted to head in the general direction of Europe but is expected to weaken substantially and turn north before lumbering out into the northeast Atlantic. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Joyce is forecasted to downgrade to a Tropical Depression by Monday, and is unlikely to mak...