Tracking the tropics: 5 active systems fill Atlantic hurricane basin

After a significant lull in the Atlantic Hurricane Season, the tropics are once again firing up. The National Hurricane Center is currently monitoring five separate systems in the Atlantic basin.

ABC11 First Alert Meteorologist Kweilyn Murphy said none of the systems currently pose any threat to North Carolina.

Most recent addition

The most recent storm is developing in the Gulf of Mexico. It is expected to become Tropical Storm Harold in the coming days and bring heavy rain to southern Texas.

The system is expected to make landfall Tuesday morning somewhere between the southern Texas boarder and Corpus Christi.

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Three named storms

Post-tropical cyclone Emily, Tropical Storm Franklin and Tropical Storm Gert are all churning up the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Franklin is the closest to land, as it sits just south of Hispaniola. The storm is slowly moving west but will soon make a hard turn north, putting it on a collision course with Hispaniola Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

Franklin is expected to remain a tropical storm as it slams through Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It may then strengthen into a hurricane as it pushes off north and west into the Atlantic.

Gert is located about 400 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands. It’s moving west at just 8 miles per hour.

It’s expected to turn northwestward Monday night into Tuesday, and then it will begin to weaken. The storm does not pose any threats to land currently.

Emily is even further out into the Atlantic. The storm has weakened significantly and is expected to continue to dissipate over the next couple days.

SEE ALSO | NOAA increases likelihood of above-normal Atlantic hurricane season

New disturbance off the African coast

Showers and storms over the Cabo Verde Islands have a high chance to become a tropical system in the next 7 days.

The storm is currently projected to head out into Atlantic, where it will not pose any threat to land.