Tropical System Develops in the Caribbean, Could Turn Toward the Gulf
As we get closer to the end of hurricane season, the tropics are still proving to be very active.
The National Hurricane Center is eyeing two storms with a high likelihood of developing into full-blown tropical systems, and one of them is making its way toward the Gulf of Mexico.
Invest 98L is a system that currently sits just north of the Caribbean and is drifting northward but appears likely to turn westward in the next few days. While that system moves, it is also expected to develop further, becoming a named storm by the beginning of the work week.
Most models have the system making a turn in the next few days, with Florida's east coast directly in the system's path.
Florida is still recovering from Hurricane Ian, which hit the state in October and dealt severe damage to its west coast.
The latest models for this storm indicate a strong tropical storm, or even a possible Category 1 hurricane impact later this week for the Bahamas and portions of Florida.
With this system and the system in the mid-Atlantic set to become named storms early in the work week, it looks very likely that we'll see storms named Nicole and Owen, one of whom could be headed for the Gulf, depending on how strong it gets and if it crosses completely through Florida to make it into the Gulf.