Another storm threat could be brewing in the Caribbean when this historically brutal Atlantic Basin hurricane season rolls into its final month later this week, forecasters say.
As USA Today reports, the season that brought massive damage − some estimates put damages from Helene and Milton at almost $100 billion − could face a new tropical threat from the western and central Caribbean, according to AccuWeather. Downpours forecast across the Caribbean this week could result in life-threatening conditions such as flash floods and mudslides − regardless of whether the disturbance earns a tropical storm moniker or not.
Water temperatures in the mid-80s, a few degrees warmer than usual for the season, can help fuel the disturbances, AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said in an interview with USA Today. Two possible disturbances provide a “high chance” of a tropical depression or storm forming in these waters heading into the early part of November, he said. “The water temperatures are very warm, and we are expecting that the winds shear to be on the lower side,” DaSilva said. “So I think strongly something will develop.”
The good news is this time of year, the storms usually kick out to sea. But one of the storms could track into Florida and all the way to the Carolinas, he said. “That is certainly in play, but we are talking around Election Day, 10 to 14 days out,” he said. “Still way out there, but we will be watching it.”
Ryan Truchelut, WeatherTiger meteorologist and USA Today Network contributor, says the 2024 hurricane season that began June 1 also is the first since 2005 to see Florida record three hurricane landfalls, two of which were Category 3 or above. Helene and Milton were unusual storms with “few historical precedents,” he says. “Quite simply, we are tired,” Truchelut says. “The 2024 hurricane season punched us harder than any in a generation.”
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