National Hurricane Center eyes 2 developing tropical systems in the Atlantic Ocean

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — The National Hurricane Center is keeping a close eye on two systems developing in the Atlantic storm basin.

The system closer to the United States has a 60 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression in the next five days.

It is currently located about 380 miles east-southeast of the Leeward Islands and moving west-northwestward at about 15 miles per hour.

It’s expected to move toward the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Tuesday and be near Hispaniola around the middle of the week. By the end of the week it could be around Cuba, the Bahamas or even the tip of Florida.

The other tropical wave is located about 600 miles east of that first one. It has a 30 percent chance to become a tropical depression over the next five days.

Our last storm to get named this year was Elsa, which became a hurricane July 2. Elsa made landfall in Florida on July 5 and headed north through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina before heading north along the East Coast.

Elsa was the earliest fifth-named storm ever, breaking the record set the year before in what became the most active hurricane season ever. However, since Elsa, there has been little to no tropical development.

Still the busiest part of the hurricane season remains ahead of us. Last week, the NOAA said the hurricane season “shows no signs of slowing,” and even updated its prediction from 13-20 named storms to 15-21.

The next names on this year’s list are Fred and Grace.

The ABC11 First Alert Weather Team will continue to monitor both systems and alert you if either of them begins to pose a threat for North Carolina.