Tracking the tropics: Keeping an eye on the Eastern Atlantic

ORLANDO, Fl - The National Hurricane Center is tracking Hurricane Isaac, located northwest of the Azores, and Tropical Storm Joyce in the central Atlantic. Neither storm is a threat to Florida.

However, we’re watching several other areas of interest.

One system in the Eastern Atlantic has an 70% chance of developing within the next week. Showers and storms linked to this low-pressure area, a few hundred miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, are becoming more organized. Conditions are favorable for development, and a tropical depression could form early or mid-week as it moves west, then northwest across the Atlantic.

Another system coming off the coast of Africa has a 20% chance of development over the next week. While currently producing limited activity, gradual development is possible as it moves westward.

In the Western Caribbean, a disturbance now has a 50% chance of forming. Like Helene, the Central American Gyre is influencing this system. Conditions are favorable for development, and a tropical depression could form by midweek. If it impacts us, we may see tropical moisture by next weekend or the following week. Models show different outcomes, but all suggest a storm could form in the Gulf of Mexico, so residents along the U.S. Gulf Coast should monitor its progress.