5 Tropical Disturbances Form In Gulf, Atlantic: What To Know In FL

FLORIDA — Four days after Hurricane Helene hit north Florida as a Category 4 storm before wreaking havoc in nearby states, the National Hurricane Center is eyeing five tropical systems in surrounding waters.

One of the concerns lies in the western Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, where the first tropical disturbance is bringing showers and thunderstorms. The NHC said there is no chance the disorganized system will transform into a cyclone in the next two days, but the environment could help the storm slowly develop into a tropical depression in the next few days.

The NHC said the U.S. Gulf Coast should monitor the disturbance's activity, since it could develop by late week or the weekend.

AccuWeather meteorologists believe the Caribbean and the Gulf may continue to be a potential tropical development zone in early October.

• Related: Hurricane Helene: 120 Dead, $160B In Damage Estimated, FEMA Funding

The forecasters said up to two tropical storms could take shape in this zone, possibly following Helene's path and aiming for the southeastern U.S.

After making landfall near the Florida Big Bend, Helene swept South Georgia and raced north through metro Atlanta before traveling into Tennessee, the Carolinas and Virginia. At least 120 people were killed in six states as a clearer picture emerged of the devastation stretching from Florida’s Gulf Coast to the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, the Associated Press said Monday. The North Carolina county that includes Asheville reported at least 35 people killed. Georgia's death count was raised Monday from 17 to 25.

First responders and families, including children, have died from Helene's impacts, officials said.

Though a new storm may not menace the U.S. the way Helene did, AccuWeather said a tropical threat remains posed.

"A zone of low pressure will form across the western Caribbean, accompanied by clusters of tropical downpours and thunderstorms over the next several days," AccuWeather Meteorologist Alyssa Glenny said in a news release. "This feature will shift into a zone with decent prospects for tropical development with abnormally warm ocean waters and where pockets of limited disruptive breezes (wind shear) are currently low. Due to these factors, our team of expert meteorologists is highlighting a high risk for tropical development."

The southwesterly wind shear is expected to pick up by the end of the week, and as they increase, they could generate both moisture "and any tropical feature that has formed or is trying to form to be guided to the north or east later next week into the following weekend," AccuWeather said.

Contributing factors for the strength and direction of the wind shear depends on the guidance of downpours and gusty winds, AccuWeather said. Forecasters noted rainfall will thrive around the western Caribbean and southern Gulf this week.

Then, the rain could travel "anywhere from Louisiana to Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas in the U.S.," AccuWeather said.

If the sheering breezes stay frail, the trajectory would lean toward Louisiana, AccuWeather said. However, the predictions state if the southwesterly steering breezes strengthen, Florida and maybe coastal Georgia and the Carolinas could be a target.

All of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, most of Georgia and parts of South Carolina and Louisiana could be threatened by flooding and damaging winds later this week and into early next week, AccuWeather forecasted.

A second tropical disturbance is currently in the east tropical Atlantic and moving westward.

This storm has a higher chance of developing into a tropical depression. The NHC predicted a probability of 30 percent in the next two days and an 80 percent probability in the next week.

As of Monday, it was causing showers and thunderstorms a few hundred miles south of the Cabo Verde Islands.

Tropical Storm Isaac, which developed into a hurricane last week in the Atlantic, weakened to a post-tropical cyclone. It was moving east-northeast.

Tropical Depression 12 is now Tropical Storm Kirk. The NHC said it was gaining strength in the Atlantic and had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.

Kirk was cruising near 12 mph toward the west as of Monday morning. By Wednesday, the system could shift to the northwest, the NHC said.

AccuWeather said Kirk could become a major hurricane by this week's end.

"High surf from the growing storm may reach Bermuda and the east coast of the United States this weekend and early next week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Reneé Duff said in the release.

Meanwhile, Tropical Depression Joyce was hardly a tropical cyclone as it headed north at 2 mph. It is forecast to continue north during the next several days. The NHC said it is predicted to soon diminish to a remnant low.

The U.S. has nearly made it through half of the 2024 Atlantic storm names, as shown by AccuWeather. The remaining names are Leslie, Milton, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sara, Tony, Valerie and William.

Hurricane season is not expected to end until Nov. 30.