The first hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic season could form in the coming days as the latest potential tropical cyclone moved quickly across the southern Caribbean Sea.
The National Hurricane Center reported Wednesday that Potential Tropical Cyclone Two had winds of 40 miles per hour west-southwest of Curacao. The system was moving west at 21 miles per hour.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect for countries including Curacao, Aruba and the coastlines of both Colombia and Venezuela. As the storm moves to the west, it could increase in strength and become the first named hurricane in the Atlantic this year.
If it becomes a named storm, it will be named Bonnie.
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HURRICANE SEASON 2022
Two other potential systems are also being tracked, with one in the northern Gulf of Mexico having a 40 percent chance of development over the next two days and expected to impact Texas.
An area in the central Atlantic Ocean has a 30 percent chance of development over the next five days as it moves to the west-northwest. It is not expected at this time to impact South Florida, but many questions remain this far out.
One thing that seems to be likely is the moisture from this wave not reaching South Florida until at least Tuesday or Wednesday, after the 4th of July. Computer models show this tropical wave could spread rain across the area, but it's early and the NBC 6 First Alert Weather team will continue to watch.
The 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially began June 1 with researchers predicting an "above-normal" year.
The first named system occurred in early June, when Tropical Storm Alex formed off Florida's east coast after moving across the state, dropping massive rainfall and causing flooding in South Florida as Potential Tropical Cyclone One.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's averages for the Atlantic hurricane season is 14 named storms and seven hurricanes. The average for major hurricanes is three.
Last month, NOAA released their predictions for this year, calling for an "above-normal" 2022 with 14-21 named storms expected.
