Storm tracker: National Hurricane Center monitoring 'area of active weather' in Atlantic
Editor's note: Follow along here for updates about Atlantic storms on Oct. 17.
Less than a week after Hurricane Milton barreled across Florida, another tropical depression could form in the Atlantic Ocean by the end of the week, forecasters said Monday.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami is tracking an "area of active weather" west of the Cabo Verde Islands in the Atlantic with a 60% chance of forming in the next week.
The NHC is "keeping an eye" on the area of low pressure called AL94, Anthony Reynes, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service in Miami, told USA TODAY Monday.
Reynes called the system a "potential storm."
As the storm moves westward, warmer waters and environmental conditions could make it more favorable for the area to form into a tropical depression.
AL94 has a 10% chance of forming in the next 48 hours, and a 60% chance of forming in the next 7 days, according to the NHC.
Florida power outage map: More than 400,000 still in the dark in Hurricane Milton aftermath
Atlantic storm tracker
Where is AL94 headed?
AL94 is forecast to move west or west-southwestward in the coming days, according to the NHC. The environment could become more favorable towards the middle or end of the week for gradual development.
A tropical depression could form as AL94 moves west-northwestward and nears the Leeward Islands, around 350 miles southeast of Puerto Rico, towards the end of the week.
Forecasters also eye Caribbean system
Meteorologists also were watching another area for potential tropical development: AccuWeather meteorologists believe there is a medium risk of tropical development in the western Caribbean from Oct. 17-19.
The area in question appeared on the hurricane center's forecast map Monday afternoon: "A broad area of low pressure is likely to form over the southwestern Caribbean Sea by the middle to latter portions of this week," the hurricane center said, giving it a 20% chance of development within the next seven days.
As to as where the potential Caribbean storm would go, "one possibility would take the system westward into Central America and southern Mexico, and the other is, unfortunately, toward Florida," AccuWeather hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said.
(This story was updated with new information.)
Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. You can connect with her on LinkedIn, follow her on X, formerly Twitter, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Storm tracker: National Hurricane Center monitors system in Atlantic