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New storm could bring rain to Florida a week after Hurricane Helene

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is monitoring a disturbance in the northwest Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico that could develop into a tropical storm and bring more rain to Florida just a week after Hurricane Helene devastated the state.

Helene made landfall last Thursday evening as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of about 140 mph near the town of Perry in the Big Bend region of the state. The storm then moved north, passing through Georgia and causing deaths in several southern and southeastern states. Storm surges, devastating winds and torrential rains threatened several levees and inundated Asheville, North Carolina with flooding. More than 150 people died in the storm, the Associated Press reported.

Five days after the storm passed through Florida, boil-water warnings remain in effect for several counties and damage caused by the hurricane spans multiple states.

New storm brings rain after hurricane in Florida
Strong winds, rain and storm surge from Hurricane Debby flood a neighborhood in Cedar Key, Florida, August 5, 2024. A new disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico could bring more rain to Florida this year…


Joe Raedle/Getty

However, the Atlantic hurricane season is still active. The NHC is monitoring two systems east of Florida – Tropical Storm Kirk and another system that has not yet developed into a named storm. Both are likely to remain at sea and will have no impact on Florida's east coast other than strong currents.

However, the NHC is keeping an eye on another system that could strengthen into a tropical storm over the next seven days.

“A broad area of ​​low pressure is producing a large area of ​​disorganized showers and thunderstorms from the southwestern Caribbean Sea to the southern Gulf of Mexico,” the NHC said. “Environmental conditions could support gradual development of this system, and a tropical depression could form late this week or weekend as the broader disturbance fully encroaches on the Gulf of Mexico. Stakeholders along the U.S. Gulf Coast should continue to monitor the progress of this system.”

The probability that the disruption will occur in the next 48 hours is almost 0 percent; looking at the next seven days, the probability increases to 40 percent.

It's unclear whether the storm will make direct landfall in the U.S. at this early stage in its development, although forecasters are warning people to remain vigilant.

“If there's anything we're going to watch in the continental United States, it's going to be this,” NWS meteorologist George Rizzuto said previously Newsweek.

NWS meteorologist Tony Hurt recounted Newsweek that regardless of development, the storm will impact humidity in the region, which is expected to bring some rain to Florida's west coast this weekend.

“Right now the unrest is not taking shape,” Hurt said.

However, there is up to a 60 percent chance of increased rain across much of Tampa this weekend. Rain is not expected to contribute to flooding in the region, although Hurt said the weather could hamper cleanup efforts for Hurricane Helene. Hurt also warned of short-term traffic congestion and minor street flooding associated with the rain.

If a storm were to develop, the threat of rain would continue to increase in parts of Florida.

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