NHC: Chances rise for system in Gulf to become Claudette
Tracking the Tropics: June 16, 2021
FOX 35 Storm Team Chief Meteorologist Jayme King has your forecast.
ORLANDO, Fla. - We could see our third named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) says an area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms over the Bay of Campeche and southern Mexico now has a 90-percent chance of developing over the next five days.
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"This system will move little today and tonight, and little if any development is expected during that time due to interaction with land," the NHC said on Wednesday. "However, the broad disturbance should begin to move northward on Thursday, and a tropical depression is likely to form by late Thursday or on Friday when the low moves across the western Gulf of Mexico."
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If it does develop into a tropical storm, it would be named Claudette.
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Regardless of development, heavy rainfall will continue over portions of Central America and southern Mexico during the next several days. Heavy rains should also begin to affect portions of the northern Gulf Coast on Friday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted that the U.S. is likely to be hit with another "above-normal" year, with 13 to 20 total named storms.
Hurricane season runs through November 30.
Watch FOX 35 News for the latest updates throughout hurricane season.