Hurricane center tracks new system headed to Caribbean as Tropical Storm Don churns in Atlantic

The National Hurricane Center began keeping tabs on a system off the coast of Africa expected to head toward the Caribbean with a chance of becoming the season’s next tropical depression or storm.

The new tropical wave is located a few hundred miles south of the Cape Verde Islands producing clouds and showers over the eastern tropical Atlantic, according to the NHC’s 8 a.m. Wednesday tropical outlook.

It’s amid a haze of Saharan dust that has also progressed westward, which means dry air that could prevent significant development in the next couple of days, but that could change as it moves west.

“Environmental conditions could become more conducive for some development by this weekend while the wave moves westward across the central tropical Atlantic at 15 to 20 mph,” the NHC said.

The NHC gives the wave a 20% chance to form in the next seven days when it’s expected to be parked near the Leeward Islands on its way toward the Caribbean.

If it were to spin up into a named tropical storm, it would become Tropical Storm Emily.

Meanwhile Tropical Storm Don continues to churn in the Atlantic to the north.

As of 11 a.m., the NHC said the center of Don was located about 760 miles west-southwest of the Azores moving west-southwest at 5 mph with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and higher gusts. Tropical-storm-force winds extend out 60 miles.

“The storm should turn southwestward soon, turn westward tonight or on Thursday, and then northwestward on Friday with an increase in forward speed,” forecasters said.

Its five-day path has it shifting to the west and then turning to the north by the weekend and back east by Monday morning. Forecasters say it may gain some strength during that run, but will return to subtropical status after the weekend as it moves into colder waters.

It’s no threat to land.

The storm began last Friday as Subtropical Storm Don before losing power to becoming Subtropical Depression Don, then finding tighter circulation as it moved south and becoming Tropical Depression Don this week and gaining enough strength Tuesday to become Tropical Storm Don.

It’s the fourth named storm of the season after a busy June that saw three tropical storms form.

The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1-Nov. 30.