Right after Hurricane Helene, forecasters are watching two more potential storms
After Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic path through Florida’s west coast, forecasters are already tracking two more disturbances with rising chances of strengthening.
The National Hurricane Center is watching a disturbance over the western Caribbean Sea that might strengthen in a similar spot where Helene did Tuesday before slamming into the Big Bend as a Category 4 hurricane just before midnight Thursday.
READ MORE: Helene’s Florida toll grows: Widespread power outages, 7 dead, hundreds of homes flooded
As of Saturday night, it had a 50% chance of more development within the next seven days, and while forecasters note any strengthening will be slow, it could form a tropical depression in the middle of next week.
The other disturbance is in the far eastern Atlantic, right behind newly christened Tropical Storm Joyce. Joyce’s latest forecast keeps it well out to sea and far away from land, dissipating early next week.
The disturbance could strengthen into a tropical depression next week while it moves west and then northwest. It had a 70% of formation in the next seven days and 30% in the next two days.
Long-range computer models — which are not very accurate but serve to help forecasters decide which systems to pay attention to — suggest that both systems have a chance of strengthening and moving in the general direction of land within a week.
“Remember, there is no skill in forecasting the intensity or placement of a tropical cyclone 7-10 days in advance. We will watch it closely, as always,” James Spann, a meteorologist for Birmingham’s ABC affiliate, WBMA, posted on X.
Forecasters are also watching Hurricane Isaac, a Category 2 spinning far north in the Atlantic, that will affect the Azores, off the coast of Portugal, over the next few days.
The next name on the list is Kirk.
This story was originally published September 27, 2024 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Right after Hurricane Helene, forecasters are watching two more potential storms."
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