What to Know
- A depression in the Atlantic had maximum winds of 35 miles per hour Thursday
- Forecasters expect the storm to increase to tropical storm strength at some point and possibly a hurricane
- The depression is expected to produce 3 to 6 inches of rainfall over Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands through Sunday
South Florida remained in the cone of concern for the latest tropical depression that could become a named tropical storm by the weekend.
Reports from a hurricane hunter aircraft Thursday evening show that the depression is not well organized.
The 11 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center had Tropical Depression 13 with maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour while 445 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands traveling to the west-northwest at 22 mph.
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A tropical storm watch was in effect for Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, St. Martin, St. Barhelemy, Saba and St. Eustatius, St. Marteen, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla. No watches have been placed on South Florida or anywhere in the southeastern United States as of Thursday.
Forecasters expect the storm to increase to tropical storm strength by the weekend, and advised residents in the Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to prepare for effects from the system.
The depression is expected to produce 3 to 6 inches of rainfall over Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands through Sunday.
The latest track takes the system just north of Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti by Saturday and Cuba on Sunday, while going over the Florida Keys and up the west coast of the state at some point Monday into Tuesday. But the system's exact path or impacts, if any, to the South Florida area are highly uncertain.
The system will likely have larger impacts for the Bahamas and South Florida if the track verifies. Impacts for this region would occur late this weekend for the Bahamas and early next week for South Florida.
Local
The current probability of tropical storm force winds stands at 34% for Key West, 25% for Miami, 36% for Fort Lauderdale and 30% for West Palm Beach.
Meanwhile, Tropical Depression 14 was close to becoming a tropical storm Thursday night with winds of 35 mph as it moved west at 14 mph. A Hurricane Watch and a Tropical Storm Warning were issued for portions of Mexico. Tropical storm warnings were in place along the coasts of Honduras and Nicaragua.
The NHC said the center of the system will move just north of Honduras on Friday and will approach the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico on Saturday. It's then expected to cross into the south-central Gulf of Mexico on Sunday. The depression is expected to become a tropical storm later Thursday and could be near or at hurricane strength when it reaches Mexico.
Another wave over western Africa has a 20% chance of cyclone formation in the next two days.
