Tropical Storm Bret Officially Forms As 2nd Storm Threatens The Gulf Coast

TAMPA, FL — As forecasters at the National Hurricane Center continued to closely monitor an area of disturbed weather in the Gulf of Mexico, another system under watch officially became the second named storm of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season Monday afternoon.

Tropical Storm Bret earned that moniker as it traveled a few hundred miles east-southeast of the southern Windward Islands just before 5 p.m. Monday. The system was moving west-northwest at 30 mph and was packing maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.

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As of early Monday evening, forecasters expected Tropical Storm Bret to skirt the northern tip of South America before moving into open water later in the week. The storm is expected to downgrade to a depression sometime on Wednesday.

The system that may pose a threat to the Gulf Coast over the next few days is a broad area of low pressure that extended from north of the Yucatan Peninsula into the southern Gulf of Mexico as of 2 p.m. June 19. While the system lacked a well-defined center Monday afternoon, forecasters say tropical storm force winds were extending out 100 to 150 miles northeast of the system.

Additional development of the system is possible over the next day or two as it moves north to northwest into the central Gulf of Mexico. “A tropical or subtropical cyclone is likely to form during that time,” the center’s 2 p.m. June 19 Tropical Weather Outlook report said. “Regardless of development, interests along the U.S. Gulf Coast from the central Texas coast to the western Florida Panhandle should monitor the progress of this system, as a tropical storm watch or warning could be needed for portions of this area later today.”

Forecasters also say heavy rains are likely across the Florida Keys and the Florida peninsula during the next day or two. The system has been given an 80 percent chance of developing more over the next two days. Its current path keeps it far from the Tampa Bay area, but forecasters say it could have impacts on local weather as it passes by.

The Gulf system is expected to become a tropical storm by Tuesday or Wednesday. Forecasters say its current projected path could bring it onshore in Texas or Louisiana later in the week. Tropical storm warnings and watches had gone up along the coastlines of both states as of Monday evening.

Should the system in the Gulf of Mexico develop enough to earn a name, it would be called Cindy. The first storm of the 2017 season, Arlene, made an appearance before the season’s official June 1 start. That tropical storm developed in April and quickly fizzled out.

Residents readying for the ongoing season can get tips and advice on the federal government’s Ready.gov website. Folks in the Tampa Bay area can also check out this related story: Hurricane Season 2017: What Tampa Bay Area Residents Need To Know.

Graphic courtesy of the National Hurricane Center