Next Tropical System Forms, With Eyes on Southern Florida

Tropical Depression 9 formed in the Atlantic Ocean on Friday morning, and the National Hurricane Center’s initial forecast cone projects a hurricane could hit the Fort Myers area as soon as Wednesday morning.

As of 5 a.m. Friday, the NHC warned of flash flooding and mudslides in places like Aruba and Curacao, before the storm moved on and intensified to tropical storm status as it neared Jamaica. By the time it approaches western Cuba on Tuesday it is expected to be as strong as a category 2 hurricane.

The development of this new storm comes just days after Hurricane Fiona devastated Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Communities in southern parts of Puerto Rico were inundated again last Monday with torrential rain and wild winds, amounting to more than 2 feet of water in spots as the threat of deadly mudslides loomed. Lago Cerillos, not far from Ponce, where Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico ahead of a second landfall in the Dominican Republic a day later, saw nearly 3 feet of rain.

President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency for Puerto Rico ahead of the storm, while the governor of Puerto Rico, as the worst of it hit, described “catastrophic” damages as the island plunged into darkness.

Source: NBC New York

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