Late-Season Storm Forms in the Atlantic

Update: The 1 p.m. report from the National Hurricane Center slightly reduced the chances of the storm developing to 80 percent. By Tuesday morning, the chance the storm would develop had dissipated to 30 percent.

A late-season storm forming in the Atlantic has a 90 percent chance of evolving into something more serious, the National Hurricane Center reports.

“The disturbance is forecast to move westward to west-northwestward for the next few days, passing near or north of the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and the southeastern Bahamas,” the center noted at 7 a.m. today.

Though it’s still early to know whether the storm threatens South Florida, the service noted a high chance of rain and rip currents for much of the week. “Shower and thunderstorm activity has increased and become a little more concentrated this morning,” the service noted, “and environmental conditions are forecast to gradually become more conducive for the development of a tropical depression or a tropical storm during the next day or so.”

Late-season storms can be some of the most destructive. Hurricane Kate hit the Florida Panhandle November 20, 1985, with 120 mph winds; Wrong Way Lenny nailed the northern Antilles with 150 mph winds November 17, 1999; and most famous, Mitch belted Honduras with 180 mph winds October 25, 1998.