The latest hurricane report from USA Today said that the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) is continuing to monitor a low pressure area in the Atlantic. The NHC- designated weather area as Invest 97L is likely to strengthen into Tropical Storm Debby and make landfall in the US this weekend or early next week.
Currently, this low pressure area is causing showers and thunderstorms across Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and is heading towards Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.
AccuWeather forecasters have warned residents from Louisiana to Florida's west coast to stay prepared for the latest storm of this year's Atlantic hurricane season.
"The latest models show that the storm will move into the eastern Gulf and explode here," AccuWeather's leading long-range typhoon forecaster Paul pastelok said.
On the afternoon of August 1, local time, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Florida is tracking 97 InvestL in the Atlantic. "The storm is expected to strengthen and make landfall as early as this weekend. The storm will move slowly and bring a lot of rain that can cause significant flooding" - he informed.
In the afternoon weather bulletin on August 1, the NHC said that Invest 97L is moving west-west through several areas of the Greater Antilles - including Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. However, environmental conditions are forecast to be more favorable for the development of this system when passing through the Greater Antilles.
"A tropical depression is expected to form later this week or early next week in the eastern Gulf of Mexico or the southwest Atlantic, including the vicinity of Florida," the NHC said in its afternoon warning bulletin on August 1.
The US National Hurricane Center said that this low pressure has a 70% chance of becoming a storm in the next 7 days.
Although the new storm has just begun to appear, forecasters recommend that people prepare. "People from Louisiana to the west coast of Florida must be prepared in case the storm rapidly intensifies," past past past past past past said.
With winds above 60 km/h, the latest depression in the Atlantic 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 typically considered the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. This is the time when ocean temperatures are at their highest, wind shear is lowest, and moisture increases across the entire Atlantic basin, contributing to storm formation.
