NHC monitoring area for development as heavy rain continues over South Florida

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is watching a disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico that could develop into a tropical system after it crosses Florida and moves off the southeastern coast of the US in the coming days. The disturbance is called Invest 90L. Invest is short for “investigation,” and refers to a weather system the NHC is investigating. When tropical systems become “invests”, it allows forecasters to run specialized computer models on them for indicators of possible development. Computer forecast models have been showing a weak low-pressure system forming offshore of the Carolinas as we head towards the weekend. The National Hurricane Center is giving it a slight chance (20%) of developing into at least a tropical depression. However, the upper-level winds are not favorable for fast or significant tropical development. Regardless of development, the area of disturbed weather should not pose a threat to the Carolinas.

Elevated wave heights and rip currents may be possible towards the end of the week for Carolina beaches. Rain is expected to stay offshore.

June makes up about 2% of historical Atlantic tropical cyclone activity. Since 1950, a little more than half of the seasons have had at least one named storm develop in June. While the month of June is usually not very active in the tropics, any named storms that do form tend to occur close to the United States, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, the western Caribbean Sea and near the Southeast and mid-Atlantic coasts. These storms typically track toward the north or northeast, which means the Gulf and Southeast coasts of the U.S. could potentially be in their path.

Make sure you keep up with the forecast for any changes and get the latest tropical outlooks at https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/