While all eyes are trained on the election, there's something swirling in the background -- a hurricane, and one that weather experts are warning could soon hit the Gulf Coast.
The National Hurricane Center shared on Sunday that the system currently known as potential tropical cyclone 18 has sparked hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings on several islands in the Gulf of Mexico, including the Cayman Islands, Cuba, and Jamaica.
Now, the hurricane center is reporting that the system is expected to become a tropical storm on Monday.
The storm system, which AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said might strengthen into a tropical storm soon, earning the name Rafael, could become a hurricane as it moves west of Jamaica.
Pydynowski told USA Today that he expects the storm system to eventually make an impact along the central and eastern Gulf Coast.
“Even if it’s encountering cooler water and wind shear and starting to lose intensity as it comes northward, you’re still going to be talking about a significant wind and rain event,” Pydynowski told the outlet. “There are still going to be impacts even if it’s a tropical storm.”
The National Hurricane Center said in its Monday morning advisory that the system is expected to bring heavy rain across the western Caribbean through the middle of the week.
The rain could result in flooding and mudslides across parts of Jamaica and Cuba.
As for the states, heavy rainfall is expected to spread from the storm northward into Florida and some other parts of the Southeastern United States, the hurricane center shared. Residents in the Florida Keys are advised to take precautions.
This hurricane season has brought several high-power storms that have wreaked havoc on the southern United States. Hurricanes Beryl, Helene, and Milton are among the five hurricanes to hit the US this season, killing at least 300 people and causing upwards of $130 billion in economic losses.
While only four hurricanes have made landfall in the US in the final month of the hurricane season, the most recent happened two years ago when Hurricane Nicole hit Florida.
Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.