Go here for the latest on Tropical Storm Helene

The next storm that could threaten the United States was taking shape early Tuesday about 150 miles west of Grand Cayman in the Caribbean, with forecasters saying there is a chance that it becomes Helene, the next hurricane in the Atlantic this year.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are currently calling the area Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine and said this weather would form into a tropical storm — meaning it has winds of 39 miles per hour — as it drifts north into the Gulf of Mexico. As of Tuesday morning, its maximum sustained winds were hovering at 35 m.p.h.

Many of the forecast models that meteorologists use show the storm strengthening rapidly over the next few days before hitting somewhere along the central to eastern Gulf of Mexico coastline in the United States on Thursday.

This storm follows Francine, which spun across the western Gulf of Mexico this month. That storm slowly intensified into a weak Category 2 in the final few hours before making landfall in Louisiana, dropping a deluge of rainfall across New Orleans.

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Forecasters warned Monday afternoon that the system is expected to intensify into a major hurricane — meaning a Category 3 or higher, with wind speeds of at least 111 miles per hour — before it approaches the northeastern Gulf Coast on Thursday, but that it was too soon to pinpoint the exact location and magnitude of the potential storm’s impacts.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida issued a state of emergency on Monday, noting that parts of the state were still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Debbystarbet777, which brought significant rain last month.

5-day chance of tropical-storm-forcedamaging winds 20% 40% 60% 80% Major hurricane Hurricane Tropical storm Source: National Hurricane Center  All times on the map are Eastern.  Map shows probabilities of at least 5 percent. The forecast is for up to five days, with that time span starting up to three hours before the reported time that the storm reaches its latest location. Wind speed probability data is not available north of 60.25 degrees north latitude. By William B. Davis, John Keefe and Bea Malsky Storm That Could Threaten Florida Takes Shape in the Caribbean - The New York Times

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