FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ The third named storm of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season has formed, but it's another area of disturbed weather over the Bahamas that could bring rain, flooding and gusty winds to South Florida this weekend.
Tropical Storm Chantal formed late Tuesday in the north Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center. Because of the cooler temperatures and dry air surrounding it, Chantal is expected to weaken to a tropical depression within the next two days and become just a remnant low within five days.
The storm poses no threat to any portion of the U.S. or and other land mass.
The area of disturbed weather in the Bahamas, however, is producing showers and thunderstorms over the central and northwestern parts of the islands, and the South Florida office of the National Weather Service says we could see heavy rain, flooding and gusty winds Friday into the weekend locally.
"Some slow development of this system is possible over the next several days as it moves toward the Florida peninsula and then the southeastern United States," the hurricane center said of that system Wednesday.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the system is being given 20% chance of becoming a tropical cyclone over the next five days.
A cyclone is a closed-circulation rotating storm that, depending on its wind-speed intensity, is classified, from weakest to strongest, as a tropical depression, tropical storm or hurricane.
The next weather system to reach storm strength will be named Dorian.
Forecasters have warned that we may see more dangerous storms this year than originally predicted as conditions become more favorable going into the peak of hurricane season.
Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, but 95% of storms are produced during the 2{ months of its peak, from mid-August to late October.
