Two tropical disturbances in the Atlantic may strengthen. What threat do they pose?

The next named storms of the Atlantic hurricane season might currently be in the process of forming, the National Hurricane Center reports.

A low pressure area over 1,000 miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands has a 40 percent chance of developing into a tropical system in the next two days, and a 70 percent chance in the next five. Meanwhile, a disturbance in the central Caribbean Sea has a 30 percent chance of becoming a tropical system in the next two days and a 50 percent chance in the next five.

The disturbance off the Cabo Verde Islands has not shown signs of organizing in the last couple days, but the NHC believes that environmental conditions in the area are ripe for helping the storm to strengthen in coming days, and they expect that the system could strengthen to a tropical depression by Monday or Tuesday of next week. It is currently moving west-northwest at 15 mph.

“Its formation chances have actually come down a bit since yesterday,” said Rich Thacker, senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston. “It is going to take its time getting its act together if it ever does.”

The other system, in the Caribbean, strengthened overnight and is currently moving west-northwest towards the Yucatan peninsula at around 10 to 15 mph. It is expected to reach the peninsula by Tuesday, and then its development will be determined by the course it takes. If the system heads inland it would likely dissipate, but if it continues over the Yucatan and into the Bay of Campeche it could see further strengthening.

“It is kind of buried in the Caribbean,” said Thacker. “If it gets into the Bay of Campeche and impact parts of the Mexican coast, and if I was in south Texas I’d want to watch it, too.”

It is too early to discern how strong either system might ultimately become or where they might end up, said Dennis Feltgen, spokesman for the NHC.

“We are now entering the start of the peak of the hurricane season,” said Feltgen. “So seeing something right now in the Atlantic is no surprise at all.”

This story was originally published August 5, 2017 at 11:15 AM with the headline "Two tropical disturbances in the Atlantic may strengthen. What threat do they pose?."