The latest storm news from USA Today said that the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) is continuing to monitor a low pressure area in the Atlantic Ocean. The weather area designated by the NHC as Invest 97L is likely to strengthen into tropical storm Debby and make landfall on the US mainland this weekend or early next week.
Currently, this area of low pressure is causing showers and thunderstorms across Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and is approaching Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.
AccuWeather storm forecasters warn people from Louisiana to the west coast of Florida to stay ready for the latest storm of this year's Atlantic hurricane season.
"The latest models show the storm will enter the eastern Gulf and explode here," AccuWeather's lead long-range storm forecaster Paul Pastelok informed.
On the afternoon of August 1, local time, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Florida is monitoring Invest 97L in the Atlantic Ocean. "It is expected that the storm will strengthen and make landfall as early as this weekend. The storm will move slowly and bring a lot of rain that could cause significant flooding" - he informed.
In the weather forecast on the afternoon of August 1, NHC informed that Invest 97L is moving west-northwest through some areas of the Greater Antilles - a region including Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. However, environmental conditions are forecast to be more favorable for the development of this system as it passes through the Greater Antilles.
"A tropical depression is expected to form late this week or early next week in the eastern Gulf of Mexico or southwest Atlantic Ocean, including in the vicinity of Florida" - NHC stated in the warning bulletin on the afternoon of August 1.
The US National Hurricane Center said that this depression has a 70% chance of becoming a storm in the next 7 days.
Although the storm has just appeared, storm forecasters advise people to be prepared. "People from Louisiana to the west coast of Florida must be ready in case the storm escalates dramatically," said Mr. Pastelok.
When winds exceed 60 km/h, the latest depression in the Atlantic Ocean will be named tropical storm Debby. This will be the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.
According to Weather.com, August, September and October are generally considered the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season . This is the time when ocean temperatures are highest, wind shear is lowest, and humidity increases across the Atlantic basin, contributing to storm formation.
