MIAMI — Just one day after the peak of hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center has officially tagged Tropical Depression Seven in the Atlantic Ocean.
The system was located about 800 miles (1,287 kilometers) east of the Leeward Islands, and tropical storm watches could be issued later today, forecasters said.
“Interests in the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico should monitor the progress of this system,” the agency said.
At 11 a.m. EDT, the depression was moving at 14 mph (22 kph) with maximum sustained winds of about 35 mph (55 kph), forecasters said.
“On the forecast track, the center of the system is forecast to move through the Leeward Islands on Friday or Friday night and be near the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico this weekend,” the hurricane center advisory said.
Down the road, NHC meteorologists are forecasting Tropical Depression Seven to track north of the Antilles and between the Bahamas and Bermuda during the course of the next seven days.
Currently west of the Cabo Verde Islands, TD7 was previously tagged as Invest 93-L.
This morning, the NHC said showers and thunderstorms associated with the system were showing signs of increasing organization, which led to the new tag.
With additional strengthening possible over the next 48 hours, the NHC says TD7 could become a tropical storm tonight or tomorrow.
As of the 2:00 p.m. update TD7 was located at 16.0 North latitude and 28.7 West longitude. It had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph and was moving forward west-northwest at 18 mph.
There are two more areas of interest in the Eastern Atlantic, according to meteorologists at the NHC.
The experts at the NHC show the current forecast track for tropical waves Invest 92-L and Invest 94-L will impact the Greater and Lesser Antilles during the next seven days.
If you are planning to travel to an area with recent or impending tropical weather, please stay informed with local weather information. One resource is the National Weather Service Southwest Region Tropical Webpage.
For travel to the Leeward and Windward Islands, weather observations and local alerts can be found here from the National Weather Service with local links to important weather information.