MIAMI — A tropical wave in the eastern Caribbean Sea is expected to strengthen into a tropical depression as November begins, according to the National Hurricane Center.
It’s called Invest 96L and it has a 70 percent chance of forming in the next two days or so and an 80 percent chance five days out, according to the hurricane center’s Friday advisory.
It could also continue gaining strength and become Tropical Storm Eta, which would be the 28th named storm of the Atlantic season.
It is currently a concentrated system forecast to drop heavy rain over Jamaica and the the ABC islands, the three westernmost islands of the Leeward Antilles, this weekend.
However, the system appears to be on a direct westerly course straight through the central and western Caribbean and toward Central America. There’s no indication that it could turn north into the Gulf of Mexico and threaten the U.S. coast.
“A vigorous tropical wave located over the central Caribbean Sea continues to produce a concentrated area of thunderstorms,” the National Weather Service (NWS) said this morning. “This system is gradually becoming better organized and conditions are conducive for further development.
“A tropical depression is expected to form during the next day or so while the disturbance moves generally westward into the western Caribbean Sea. Interests in Honduras and Nicaragua should monitor the progress of this system. Regardless of development, this disturbance is expected to produce heavy rainfall across portions of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and Jamaica through the weekend.”
