Earlier this week, forecasters had their hands full as five tropical disturbances buzzed with potential activity in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico.
Now, ocean waters have calmed, leaving only three disturbances on Saturday — two of which might yet strengthen into a tropical depression.
This continues a historic streak without a named storm that began during a mostly quiet August and has stretched into early September. The last time there were no named storms in a similar time frame was in the late 1960s.
Weather experts and forecasters remain puzzled but cautiously aware that the 2024 hurricane season still might see potentially life-threatening storms in the coming months.
Here’s what the hurricane center’s 2 p.m. Saturday advisory reported. The tracked systems do not currently affect Florida:
Disturbance 1
Over the Bay of Campeche, an area of low pressure is producing showers and thunderstorms. The system is forecast to drift slowly north for a couple of days. A tropical depression could form in the middle of next week while the disturbance moves along the Mexico and Texas Gulf coastline.
It has a 60% chance of strengthening in the next two days and an 80% chance in the next seven days.
Disturbance 2
The next system is another area of low pressure over the central Atlantic. Forecasters said any development will be slow as it meanders during the next few days. A tropical depression could form early next week.
It has a 50% chance of strengthening in the next seven days, and a 30% chance in the next two days.
Disturbance 3
Several hundred miles east-southeast of the Cabo Verde Islands is a trough of low pressure creating showers and thunderstorms. It is expected to move little during the next few days until it potentially interacts with a tropical wave expected move off Africa on Monday. A tropical depression could form by the middle of or late next week.
It has a 40% chance of strengthening in the next seven days, and a near-zero chance in the next two days.
