NEW ORLEANS ( WGNO ) — The National Hurricane Center has designated an area of low pressure in the Caribbean as “Potential Tropical Cyclone Nineteen,” and forecasts it will strengthen into a tropical storm within the next 24 hours. The next name on the list is Sara.
The storm’s motion is currently uncertain as it is still in the early stages of development, but the NHC estimates the system is generally moving westward at approximately 6 mph.
This westward motion is expected to continue over the next few days at a slower pace as the system progresses into the western Caribbean Sea.
Later this week and over the weekend, weakened steering currents are likely to cause the system to meander offshore or along the coast of Central America. Toward the end of the forecast period, a front moving into the western Gulf of Mexico is expected to shift the storm to a northwestward track.
While forecast models generally align on the storm’s projected path, there is uncertainty regarding potential land interaction in Central America and whether the system will make landfall…