Storm tracker: Tropical Storm Gordon, Francine remnants, and another storm brewing

Mike Snider, USA TODAY

September 15, 2024 at 1:02 AM·3 min read

As the National Hurricane Center tracked Tropical Storm Gordon on Saturday, also being watched is a disturbance off the Southeast U.S., which may bring heavy rain and flash flooding to the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic early next week.

Tropical Storm Gordon is expected to weaken as it moves slowly west-northwestward over the central tropical Atlantic Ocean the next several days, the center said. Now located about 1,145 miles west-northwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, which lie off the west coast of Africa, Gordon is moving at about 9 mph with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.

Gordon is expected to become a depression by early Sunday and could gradually gain strength during the middle of next week. The storm is expected to remain at sea with no threat to land for at least the next week, AccuWeather forecasters said.

The developing "tropical wind and rainstorm" off the coast of the Southeast U.S., could develop into a tropical disturbance or storm early next week and bring coastal flooding, rip currents and beach erosion from northeastern Florida to the Delmarva Peninsula into next week, according to AccuWeather.

The National Hurricane Center Saturday is tracking Tropical Storm Gordon and a disturbance off the southeast U.S., which may bring heavy rain and flash flooding to the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic early next week.

Rain from that storm could coincide with that from the storm previously known as Hurricane Francine – now labeled a "post-tropical" storm by the National Weather Service.

Francine is expected to continue bringing heavy rain and flash flooding to the Southeast U.S. through Sunday, the service said. Flash flood watches are in effect for parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, which are expected to continue to get rain Saturday and Sunday.

Francine slams into Louisiana: See photos and videos of impact and damage

NHC tracking system off Southeast US coast, three tropical waves

The system just off the coast of the Southeast U.S. could form into a subtropical or tropical depression or storm, fueled by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, as it moves northwestward, the National Hurricane Center said. The NHC put its chance of formation at 30% over the next 48 hours and 50% over the next seven days.

It's expected to bring showers and thunderstorms to Florida, the Carolinas and southern Mid-Atlantic through early next week, the NWS said Saturday. As the low pressure system moves north along the East Coast it will bring heavy rain and the threat of flash flooding early next week to portions of the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic, the agency said.

The hurricane center is also monitoring three tropical waves.

An eastern Atlantic tropical wave
A tropical wave moving across the Lesser Antilles
A central Caribbean tropical wave near western Venezuela

A tropical wave can lead to the formation of a tropical cyclone, which in turn may develop into a tropical storm or hurricane, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.