Two weeks after Hurricane Francine made landfall on the Louisiana coast and later rolled through Mississippi, multiple forecast models are predicting a system in the Carribean could form this season’s next hurricane.
A tropical system, dubbed “Invest 97L” or “Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine” by the National Hurricane Center (NHC), is expected to form into a strong tropical storm or a hurricane by the end of this week. The NHC says a broad area of low pressure is currently producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and portions of Central America.
UPDATE: The system is expected to strengthen into a hurricane Tues. night. At this time, @NWSNHC is predicting that its current track could head toward the FL Panhandle. It’s too soon to tell where the direct impact will be. We encourage Mississippians to continue monitoring. pic.twitter.com/fyDoP6BwGK
— msema (@MSEMA) September 23, 2024
“Environmental conditions appear conducive for development of this disturbance, and a trpoical depression or tropical storm is likely to form during the next few days while the system moves northward across the northwestern Caribbean Sea and into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico,” the NHC said in its most recent tropical weather outlook.