Caribbean system could be headed to US

Hurricane hunters surveying system Wednesday

HOUSTON – A cluster of thunderstorms in the eastern Caribbean could become the next named tropical system, and it could be headed for the U.S., forecasters said Wednesday.

According to the National Hurricane Center, the system has an 80 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone within the next five days. Hurricane Hunters surveyed the tropical wave Wednesday morning and found it lacks a center circulation, but does contain winds of tropical storm force.

If the storms develop into a named tropical system, it would be called Hermine.

KPRC meteorologist Britta Merwin said there is uncertainty about the forecast, but most weather models show the system moving northwest into the Bahamas, where conditions are more favorable for a tropical system to form.

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Merwin said it is possible that nothing will form from the latest tropical interest, but heavy rain is expected in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where flash flood watches have been issued.

If a tropical system forms, forecast models show many solutions for locations where the storm would head, according to Merwin. Residents from the Gulf Coast to Florida and up the East Coast need to watch the forecast closely, she said.

Tropical Storm Gaston, the only named storm in the Atlantic right now, poses no immediate threat to land. He is forecast to strengthen to a hurricane and stay in open water though early Monday morning.

Track the tropics by downloading the free KPRC 2 Hurricane Tracker app: