Florida, Texas Warned of ‘Rapidly’ Strengthening Storm

Meteorologists are starting to sound the alarm of an area at a high risk of tropical development in the Gulf of Mexico next week that could impact Florida, Texas and several other Gulf Coast states.

Earlier this year, weather experts warned of the high possibility of an above-average hurricane season, citing the climate pattern of El Niño and abnormally warm ocean surface temperatures. But as of mid-September, there have been only seven named storms that originated in the Atlantic Ocean. The most recent was Tropical Storm Gordon, which has weakened into remnants out at sea without making landfall.

The next named storm will be Helene. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is tracking two disturbances in the Atlantic Ocean as of Thursday—the remnants of Gordon, which has a 30 percent chance of formation in the next two days and another with a 10 percent chance of formation. Several meteorologists have expressed concerns of another possible system that might develop in the southern Gulf of Mexico or western Caribbean next week.

AccuWeather issued a report on Thursday about a potential storm system brewing in the northwestern Caribbean and southcentral, southwestern Gulf of Mexico.

“There is the potential for a tropical storm that forms in this area to strengthen into a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico,” Senior Director of AccuWeather Forecasting Operations Dan DePodwin said in the report. “Historically, a storm moving northward from the Caribbean this time of the year not only strengthens but often rapidly strengthens. Major hurricanes have developed in similar situations in the past.”

AccuWeather meteorologist Isaac Longley told Newsweek that there’s an area of low pressure providing a favorable setup for storm development. With low wind shear and high ocean surface temperatures, Longley said, the system will likely develop by the middle of next week.

The storm’s path is uncertain and no official forecasts have been issued as of Thursday evening.

AccuWeather created a graphic included with the report that showed the historical risk of landfall of storms that developed in the same area that meteorologists are monitoring. Central Gulf Coast states—Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama—harbor the biggest risk of landfall at a 38 percent chance. There’s a 14 percent chance of landfall in Texas, 17 percent in Florida, a 10 percent chance the storm will move eastward through the southwest Atlantic and a 21 percent chance it will move westward and impact Mexico or Central America.

Should the potential storm tear through the central Gulf Coast states, it would deliver another blow to the region. Hurricane Francine struck Louisiana on September 11 as a Category 2 storm, triggering widespread flooding, power outages and damaging wind speeds to the already fragile coastal area.