National Hurricane Center: Invest 93-L could become tropical depression later this week
ORLANDO, Fla. - The tropics are heating up early in the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, with another tropical disturbance, known as Invest 93L, being watched for development.
The system, which is located several miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, is forecast to become a tropical depression later this week, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Currently, it has a high, 70% chance of formation over the next 48 hours and a high, 80% chance of formation over the next seven days.
What is an Invest system?
An invest system is short for "investigative system" or "area of interest". The invest tag is reserved for areas of disturbed weather being monitored for potential tropical development. Once the National Hurricane Center ear-marks an investigative area, spaghetti forecast models are applied to the situation, helping to forecast future tracking.
Invests are identified by numbers ranging from 90-99, the letter "L" is attached if the system resides in the North Atlantic.
Tropical Storm Bret
The NHC is also keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Bret which is expected to become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season.
Forecasters expect it to strengthen over the next few days, reaching Category 1 hurricane strength of 75 mph (120 kph) by early Thursday morning. Because of wind shear, the storm is not expected to strengthen into a Category 2 storm.