Hurricane Oscar Forms: What You Should Know About a New Storm Off the Bahamas

Hurricane Oscar has formed off the coast of the Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Saturday.

The storm poses a potential threat to surrounding areas in the southeastern Bahamas and is expected to bring hurricane conditions and trigger a storm surge with heavy rainfall in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the NHC said.

In response, the government of the Bahamas has issued a hurricane warning for the Turks and Caicos Islands and parts of the southeastern Bahamas. Meanwhile, Cuban authorities have placed the provinces of Guantánamo, Holguín and Las Tunas under hurricane watch as the storm approaches.

Oscar will experience maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour, with stronger gusts in some areas. The center of the storm is about 165 miles southeast of the Bahamas and about 470 miles east of Camaguey, Cuba, making it a concern for communities in the area.

Just hours before Oscar took shape, Tropical Storm Nadine formed off Mexico's southern Caribbean coast. Nadine has already caused heavy rain and storms in parts of Belize and the Yucatán Peninsula.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for Belize City, extending along the coast from Belize to Cancún, Mexico, including the island of Cozumel.

The NHC said Nadine was just 20 miles east of Belize City and was moving inland with winds of 13 mph and a maximum of 50 mph.

The storm is expected to move across Belize, northern Guatemala and southern Mexico throughout Sunday, raising concerns about possible flooding and damage to infrastructure.

Newsweek I have emailed the NHC for further comment.

Concerns about tropical storm activity increased in the U.S. last week. People feared another tropical storm could hit Florida, shortly after hurricanes Milton and Helene devastated the Sunshine State. However, most spaghetti models — computer models that illustrate possible storm paths — predict that AL95, a system in the northwestern Caribbean, will move westward over Central America or Mexico.

A model shows the storm tracking northeast toward Florida. However, WFLA-TV chief meteorologist Jeff Berardelli previously said Newsweek that a cold front in Florida would temporarily protect the state from tropical storm activity.

Another model shows the storm moving north toward Texas, which is also unlikely given the disruptive winds off the Texas coast this time of year.

However, meteorologists have been monitoring developments in the Caribbean region over the past week since the beginning of this month.

An NHC spokesperson previously shared the following update Newsweek:

“Widespread showers and thunderstorms continue to occur in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, associated with an extensive area of ​​low pressure that is gradually becoming better defined north of eastern Honduras. Environmental conditions appear conducive to further development over the next day or so, and a short-lived tropical depression or storm could form before the system moves inland over Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico on Saturday.

“Regardless of developments, locally heavy rainfall is expected in parts of Central America and southern Mexico through the weekend,” the update continued. “There is a medium (50 percent) chance of it forming in the next 48 hours and the next 7 days.”

Both storms are now being closely watched as forecasters expect further developments in the coming days.