Atlantic system has 90% of forming into a tropical depression soon, forecasters say
By Monique O. Madan and
Michelle Marchante
The National Hurricane Center says advisories could be issued later Tuesday for a system in the Atlantic that has a high 90% of forming into a tropical depression within the next few days.
The low pressure system is about 900 miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands Tuesday and has gained a better-defined center of circulation, according to the hurricane center’s advisory at 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Its showers and thunderstorms have also become more organized when compared to Monday, according to the hurricane center.
Forecasters say the disturbance has a 90% of forming into a tropical depression within the next 2 to five days, with advisories possibly being issued later Tuesday “if these development trends continue.”
The system is forecast to move west-northwest at around 15 mph across the tropical Atlantic during the next few days, with conditions possibly becoming “less conducive for development” by the end of the week.
On Sunday, National Weather Service Robert Molleda said that it’s still too early to tell if this system would have an impact on South Florida but that “these are the kind of systems that if they do form, we need to prepare.”
He added: “This is a reminder that we are in the first active part of the hurricane season so we need to stay ready.”
A tropical depression is a tropical cyclone that has maximum sustained winds of 38 mph or less. If it were to become a tropical storm, it would be named Josephine, national forecasters said.
Miami Herald staff writer Carli Teproff contributed to this report.
This story was originally published August 9, 2020 at 4:26 PM.
Michelle Marchante covers the pulse of healthcare in South Florida and also the City of Coral Gables. Before that, she covered the COVID-19 pandemic, hurricanes, crime, education, entertainment and other topics in South Florida for the Herald as a breaking news reporter. She recently won first place in the health reporting category in the 2025 Sunshine State Awards for her coverage of Steward Health’s bankruptcy. An investigative series about the abrupt closure of a Miami heart transplant program led Michelle and her colleagues to be recognized as finalists in two 2024 Florida Sunshine State Award categories. She also won second place in the 73rd annual Green Eyeshade Awards for her consumer-focused healthcare stories and was part of the team of reporters who won a 2022 Pulitzer Prize for the Miami Herald’s breaking news coverage of the Surfside building collapse. Michelle graduated with honors from Florida International University and was a 2025 National Press Foundation Covering Workplace Mental Health fellow and a 2020-2021 Poynter-Koch Media & Journalism fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription
Monique O. Madan covers immigration and enterprise; she previously covered breaking news and local government. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald and The Dallas Morning News. In 2019 she was a Reveal Fellow at the Center for Investigative Reporting. She’s a graduate of Harvard University, Emerson College and The Honors College at Miami Dade College. A note to tipsters: If you want to send Monique confidential information, her email and mailbox are open. You can find all her stories here: moniqueomadan.com. You can also direct message her on social media and she’ll provide encrypted Signal details.Support my work with a digital subscription
