The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Nadine nears landfall in Belize, while Invest 94L organizes north of Haiti and the Dominican Republic with a 60% chance of development in 48 hours. Oct. 19, 2024.
MIAMI — A tropical disturbance that has spent days in the Atlantic Ocean struggling to get organized suddenly found new life Saturday, and may develop into a tropical depression, or even a tropical storm later in the day.
The storm, currently designated Invest 94L, has suddenly had its showers and thunderstorms become better organized Saturday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center. There is even now a small area of low pressure as it swirls a couple hundred miles north of the northern coast of the Dominican Republic.
“If these trends continue, a tropical depression or storm could form as soon as later (Saturday) as the system moves generally westward at 10 to 15 mph,” the NHC wrote in their Saturday morning update.
(FOX Weather)
If the storm develops enough organization with at least 39 mph winds, it would take the name Tropical Storm Oscar and become the second tropical storm to get a name on Saturday, joining Tropical Storm Nadine, which was christened early Saturday morning near Belize.
TROPICAL STORM NADINE THREATENING TORRENTIAL RAINS IN BELIZE, SOUTHERN MEXICO
Invest 94L is expected to pass north of Hispanola Saturday and then move near the Turks and Caicos Islands, the southeastern Bahamas, and extreme eastern Cuba on Sunday, the NHC said.
“Interests in these locations should monitor the progress of this system,” the NHC said, as the storm could bring heavy rains, rough surf and gusty winds.
Could Invest 94L reach the US?
While the northern Caribbean islands should monitor 94L’s progress, the storm remains no threat to the US.
An expansive ridge of high pressure anchored over the East Coast is acting like a protective barrier, with a front at the ridge’s boundary providing hostile atmospheric conditions for any tropical systems to approach Florida or the Southeastern coast.