Atlantic hurricane season has its 8th tropical depression, and it will be felt in the Lowcountry

A disturbance that has been slowly making its way across the Atlantic since last week has organized and gained strength, becoming the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season’s eighth tropical depression, the National Hurricane Center reports.

The depression is currently sporting wind speeds of 35 mph and is moving north-northwest at around 14 mph. It is expected to be pushed off to the east by a non-tropical system on Tuesday or Wednesday according to AccuWeather, and is not seen as a direct threat to the U.S. coast.

No warnings or watches have been issued at this time.

Even though it is not expected to make landfall, it will create swells that will be felt along the east coast in the form of choppy surf and an increased chance of rip currents, reports AccuWeather. Also, the non-tropical system that is expected to push the storm to the east is anticipated to drop a significant amount of rain in its wake, and this could lead to localized flash flooding in the southeastern part of the country.

The depression is expected to develop into a tropical storm on Sunday. When it does, it will be given the name Gert. It is not expected to develop into a hurricane, as conditions will not be conducive for such development, AccuWeather reports.

Meanwhile, the NHC has started tracking a recently emerged low pressure area off the west coast of Africa with a slight, 20 percent probability of becoming the Atlantic’s next tropical cyclone in the next five days. It is currently moving to the west-northwest at around 10 to 15 mph and is expected to meet up with a larger area of low pressure southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands in the next few days.

This story was originally published August 13, 2017 at 10:25 AM with the headline "Atlantic hurricane season has its 8th tropical depression, and it will be felt in the Lowcountry."