AUSTIN, Texas — It's hard to believe it's already June, which means the arrival of the Atlantic hurricane season.
Since this is a La Niña year, forecasts call for above-average activity in the tropics this year. NOAA recently released its seasonal outlook and projected a total of 14-21 named storms. Out of the named storms, six to 10 are expected to become hurricanes, with three to 6 being considered major hurricanes. Major hurricanes rank as a Category 3 or higher.
The Eastern Pacific hurricane season began on May 15 and has already been active with Hurricane Agatha, which made landfall in southwestern Mexico as the strongest May hurricane in the Eastern Pacific on record as a Category 2 hurricane. The remnants of Agatha could aid in tropical development in the Gulf of Mexico within the next few days.
As of the 8 a.m. Wednesday update from the National Hurricane Center, we are now monitoring two potential areas of tropical development.
The first area of possible development is within the Gulf of Mexico or northwestern Caribbean Sea. There is a 70% chance of development into a tropical depression over the next two days and an 80% chance of development over the next five days. Since this system would develop in the Atlantic basin, it would receive the name Alex if it were to become a named system. This system is expected to be a rainmaker for parts of Florida but will not impact Texas.
The second area we are monitoring is located in the southwestern Atlantic just northeast of the central Bahamas. There is currently disorganized shower activity in the area with a 10% chance of development over both the next two and five days.
Here is a look at the Atlantic basin storm names for this year:
The KVUE Weather Team will continue to monitor the tropics throughout hurricane season and provide you with the latest updates both on air and online.
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