NHC tracking 2 Atlantic disturbances during peak of hurricane season

Sept. 2 (UPI) -- During the peak of the hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center is tracking two disturbances in the Atlantic that could become depressions later this week.

Both waves have a 40% chance of formation over seven days, NHC in its 8 p.m. update Monday . They now are producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms.

The next storm name for the Atlantic will be Francine, the sixth one on the list.

A tropical wave west of the Lesser Antilles and north of Venezuela could become a depression "later this week" as it moves over portions of the eastern Caribbean Sea and the adjacent land areas, NHC said.

"Environmental conditions are forecast to become more conducive for development when the system reaches the western Caribbean Sea and southwestern Gulf of Mexico late this week and over the weekend," NHC said about the wave, which has zero percent chance of formation in the next two days.

A tropical wave, west of Africa, could become a depression in the "next few days," the NHC said. The chance of formation over 48 hours is 10%.

"This system could produce locally heavy rains and gusty winds across portions of the Cabo Verde Islands in a day or two," NHC said.

On Monday night, NHC stopped tracking a disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico near Texas. It was a broad low-pressure system in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico near the upper Texas coast. It is bringing rain and thunderstorms along and off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, and is expected to move inland early Tuesday.

Development is not expected but heavy rains could cause some flash flooding across portions of the Texas coast during the next day or two, NHC said.

Not a single named tropical storm has developed in the Atlantic basin between Aug. 21 and Sept. 2, the first time in 27 years.

The hurricane season goes from June 1 to Nov. 30.

Surface water temperatures of 80 degrees and above make it the perfect fuel for developing hurricanes.

"Water temperatures and ocean heat content levels remain at near-record levels across the Atlantic, potentially allowing for the rapid intensification of any named storm that forms," AccuWeather.com hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said.

This year could see 17 to 24 named storms, including eight to 13 hurricanes and four to seven major hurricanes, according to the NOAA .

An average season has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes, according to the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration.

The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season was the fourth-most active with 20 named storms forming since 1950. Seven became hurricanes, with three reaching major hurricane strength.

So far this year there have been five named storms.

Most recently, Ernesto formed on Aug, 12. It caused significant flooding U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and intensified as a Category 2 hurricane before striking Bermuda. Ernesto weakened as a tropical storm as it passed near Canada.

Earlier in August, Debby was a Category 1 storm that made landfall in the Florida Panhandle and then moved through the U.S. Atlantic Coast, causing torrential rain and widespread, record flooding up the eastern seaboard.

Beryl intensified into a Category 5 hurricane, the earliest intensity on record, as it hit Grenada in late June. Beryl's winds diminished as it passed south of Jamaica and then the Cayman Islands before the Yucatán Peninsula and the Gulf Coast of the United States.

Two tropical storms were in the Gulf of Mexico in June: Cindy and Alberto .