One day after the start of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, forecasters are already preparing for the first system that could make landfall in Florida as early as Friday.
The National Hurricane Center reported an area of low pressure could develop near the Yucatan Peninsula partially related to the remnants of Hurricane Agatha. Energy from the remnants of Agatha will continue to slide northeast toward the Gulf of Mexico and there is now a 90% chance that a tropical depression will form somewhere between the Yucatan and the southern half of Florida.
If it develops into a tropical storm, which forecasters said is possible, it would be named Alex.
At this time, it looks like more a rain impact than a wind impact, but that rain could be very heavy on Friday and Saturday.
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Hurricane Season 2022
Some parts of South Florida could see as much as five inches of rain over the course of the system's impact. But rainfall forecasts are trending up with model output of as much as 10 inches in metro South Florida, according to NBC 6 Hurricane Specialist John Morales.
Winds will gust as well, quite possibly 30-40 miles per hour or slightly higher.
It does seem as though Tropical Storm or even Hurricane Alex could form in the Atlantic after the system crosses Florida.
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The 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially began Wednesday with researchers predicting an "above-normal" year and forecasters already keeping an eye on one system that could become the first named storm of the season.
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.
