Forecasters are keeping an eye on a tropical wave in the southwestern Caribbean as it heads north toward the southern U.S., according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
The system could make its way into the southwestern Gulf of Mexico by Thursday night, according to AccuWeather.
“Should the system stay over warm waters of the Gulf versus crawling along the coast of Mexico from Friday through Saturday, it could have enough time to organize, strengthen and reach tropical depression or storm status,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Matt Benz said.
There is a low chance for development into a named storm.
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Two factors will help determine whether the system becomes the next named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season: how fast it moves and how much time it spends over water as it moves north.
Speaking of a drink of water, latest run of the ECMWF wants to take that tropical things NHC is watching up into TX next week as a rainmaker. We shall see… pic.twitter.com/2r1zmgcYA1
— Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) August 17, 2022
Regardless of development, the system could bring showers and thunderstorms into south Texas over the weekend, about a week after another system brought 5 to 10 inches of rain to the same area.
Weather patterns over northern Africa this summer, the birthplace of many tropical systems, has so far inhibited the development of tropical waves. That may soon change.
