Brewing tropical system in Caribbean may take aim at US Gulf Coast

“The overall environment appears to be quite favorable for development perhaps as early as Friday, but more likely Saturday,” AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said.

AccuWeather Global Weather Center – August 26, 2021 –  A tropical wave sweeping through the Caribbean Sea has a high likelihood of becoming a named system as it tracks into the Gulf of Mexico late this week and into the weekend. Parts of the Yucatan Peninsula that were hit by Hurricane Grace may again see impacts from this new tropical threat. However, a more likely scenario AccuWeather forecasters are analyzing opens up the possibility that the system could strengthen into a hurricane and take aim at the western or central Gulf Coast.

This AccuWeather Enhanced RealVue™ Satellite image captured early Thursday morning, Aug. 26, 2021, shows an area of disturbed weather in the Caribbean Sea that forecasters are monitoring for tropical development in the coming days.

“Odds are we’re going to have a hurricane some point this weekend in the Gulf of Mexico,” AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said in Wednesday’s edition of his Weather Insider podcast.

The feature under scrutiny, designated as Invest 99L by the National Hurricane Center, remained largely disorganized during the early part of this week as it produced showers and breezy conditions across parts of the Caribbean and northern portions of South America. The feature has since become better organized as it tracked into the western Caribbean.

Tropical development is not expected to occur through at least Thursday due to unfavorable wind shear in the path of the disturbance.