Chances rise for two new Atlantic storms to form. One might be near Florida
.png "Chances continue to rise that two new tropical depressions could form in the Atlantic within the next week.")
Of the two tropical waves that could develop in the next week, the westernmost one could be on track to form near the Bahamas and Florida. The other appears to be on a track that keeps it out to sea.
The National Hurricane Center said Tuesday that a tropical depression could form in the region near the Bahamas toward the end of this week.
As of 8 p.m., the hurricane center raised the wave’s chances of formation to 30%, from 20%, in the next two days and 70%, from 60%, within the next seven days.
The other system is more likely to develop first, but models show it keeping far away from most occupied land — a trend many storms have followed this season.
As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, the eastern wave had increased to a 70% chance, up from 60%, of developing in the next two days and a 90% chance of strengthening into a tropical depression within the next seven days.
Andy Hazelton, an associate scientist at the University of Miami focused on hurricanes, called it a “complicated forecast” on X Tuesday morning.
“[The eastern disturbance] seems fairly likely to become a recurving hurricane similar to Gabrielle. [The western disturbance] will take a more westerly track and could pose a threat to the East Coast, but it’s not clear how strong it will get due to interaction with the islands. And of course these waves are close enough that we could see direct and/or indirect interaction between them,” he wrote.
Some of the long-range storm models, like the European and Google’s DeepMind AI-powered forecast, have continued to suggest that the two waves will both form and follow parallel tracks to the East Coast while curving north into the open Atlantic. However, the westernmost wave could form close enough to the East Coast to see U.S. impacts.
The next names on the storm list are Humberto and Imelda.
The latest on Hurricane Gabrielle
Hurricane Gabrielle held onto its status as a Category 4 storm with 140 mph sustained winds overnight, but Tuesday morning, forecasters said the storm appeared to have reached “peak intensity.”
By Tuesday night, Gabrielle’s winds had declined to 125 mph — making it a Category 3.
Gabrielle is expected to gradually weaken over the next few days before regaining tropical storm status this weekend. The forecast track steered it clear of Bermuda, minus some far-reaching swells, but by Thursday or Friday, the hurricane could reach the Azores — an island chain off the coast of Portugal.
The islands may see some impacts from Gabrielle, but forecasters said it's “too soon” to know exactly what they could see.
This story was originally published September 23, 2025 at 8:52 AM.
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