Tropical Storm Patty Could Develop in Caribbean Sea After Halloween

A new area of potential tropical development has been identified by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in the southwestern Caribbean Sea, raising the possibility of another tropical storm forming after Halloween.

Currently, the odds of development are considered medium to low over the next week, but the FOX Forecast Center anticipates that these chances could increase as the Atlantic hurricane season enters its final month. A broad area of low pressure is expected to form in the southwestern Caribbean Sea around the middle of this week, coinciding with the return of the Central American Gyre. This gyre has previously contributed to the formation of hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as Tropical Storm Nadine.

The NHC has noted that “some gradual development of this system is possible through the end of the week as it begins to drift northward or northeastward over the southwestern and south-central Caribbean Sea.”.

While most late-season tropical storms do not pose a threat to the U.S., there is a possibility that such a system could impact Florida or deliver a glancing blow to the Eastern Seaboard. The next storm to receive a name in the Atlantic Basin, which includes the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, will be called Patty.

Elsewhere across the Atlantic Basin, the tropics are expected to remain quiet as we enter the final days of October and approach the start of November. The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season will officially conclude on November 30).