Eighth Tropical Depression of 2012 Forms

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An AccuWeather.com forecaster said in July that a building El Niño could put a kibosh on the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season if it strengthens enough, and the two most recent tropical weather events since that prediction have largely fizzled out.

Now the National Hurricane Center is tracking a new tropical depression, #8 for the 2012 season, developing in the Atlantic Ocean. However the storm system is not expected to pose any threats to land. The projected track for the storm sees it spinning away into the northeastern Atlantic.

Forecasters caution that more strengthening of the system is possible with it crossing the threshold to a named tropical storm later tonight or Thursday. Wind speeds remained below the 35 MPH required for the system to be considered a tropical storm as of NHC's latest advisory at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The system is moving north at about 18 MPH, and it is expected to begin a turn to the north-northeast on Thursday. It was located at about 595 miles east-southeast of Bermuda at the time of the advisory.