The National Hurricane Center says a disorganized area of showers and thunderstorms associated with an area of low pressure over the northwestern Caribbean has a high likelihood of being the next named storm.
The storm could intensify into a category three hurricane by Thursday afternoon, according to forecasters.
"The system is expected to intensify into a major hurricane before it approaches the northeastern Gulf Coast on Thursday," said National Hurricane Center forecaster Amanda Reinhart. "While it is too soon to pinpoint the exact location and magnitude of impacts, the potential for life-threatening storm surge and damaging hurricane-force winds along the coast of the Florida Panhandle and the Florida west coast is increasing."
The system is forecast to move north through the Yucatan channel and into the Gulf of Mexico by mid-week. A ridge over the eastern Atlantic and a deep-layer trough over the central U.S. are expected to steer the storm in the direction of Florida's panhandle.
"The track guidance is very tightly clustered on this solution," said Reinhart.
