What hurricanes are coming to Milton? New potential storm is being tracked

Just days after Hurricane Milton hit Florida, meteorologists are pinpointing a new area of ​​possible tropical development in the western Caribbean.

Milton made landfall on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key, Florida, on the state's west coast. It came just two weeks after Hurricane Helene hit the Big Bend region and caused catastrophic damage across the southeastern United States.

Earlier this week, meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) observed a disturbance near Bermuda that has since dissipated. Another disturbance near the west coast of Africa now shows a 50 percent chance of developing in the next seven days.

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It is unclear whether the disturbance in the Atlantic will further strengthen into a tropical storm. AccuWeather meteorologists are also monitoring a vortex – or large system of rotating ocean currents – that could develop into a stronger storm in the western Caribbean by the end of next week. The NHC has not yet begun tracking this area on its website.

“We expect another twister to move across Central America over the next week,” Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather's senior hurricane expert, said in AccuWeather's Thursday report on the possible storm. “This large, slowly rotating depression may develop into a more prominent area of ​​showers and thunderstorms, and this may develop into a tropical depression or tropical storm.”

AccuWeather senior meteorologist Matt Benz said Newsweek Should the storm develop, it would not happen until October 17th to 19th at the earliest. Then meteorologists will have a better idea of ​​the storm's possible direction. However, if it develops, the storm will likely go in one of two directions.

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“One possibility would take the system west into Central America and southern Mexico, the other unfortunately leads to Florida,” DaSilva said in AccuWeather's report.

The storm is unlikely to target Texas due to disruptive breezes in that area at this time of year.

DaSilva cited very warm ocean temperatures as a worrisome factor that could contribute to the development of tropical storms in the western Caribbean. Similar warm water contributed to the rapid strengthening of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Benz said.

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The next two tropical storms will be named Nadine and Oscar, although it is possible that neither system will develop into a tropical storm or of major magnitude.

The system near Africa could develop much earlier than the potential storm in the western Caribbean. However, if a tropical storm does develop, the NHC expects it to be short-lived.

“Environmental conditions are expected to become less favorable on Saturday and further development thereafter appears unlikely,” the NHC report said.

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season lasts until November.