NHC Tracks Two Systems as Tropical Storm Humberto Heads Toward Bermuda

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is tracking two systems in the Atlantic on Thursday morning as hurricane season continues.

As of 5 a.m. Thursday, Tropical Storm Humberto was located about 480 miles east-northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands, moving northwest at 10 mph. The storm is currently producing maximum sustained winds near 45 mph, with higher gusts, and the NHC expects it to strengthen over the next several days.

The NHC anticipates the storm will largely avoid the Caribbean and instead track north toward Bermuda, possibly impacting the islands by early Tuesday. It is still in the early stages, so the forecast is subject to change, but the NHC currently has no watches or warnings in place for Humberto.

The second system, though currently unnamed, is considered more likely than Humberto to cause disruptions for the travel industry this week.

A tropical wave hovering near the Dominican Republic is producing some “disorganized shower and thunderstorms” on Thursday. The NHC expects this to continue as the system moves across Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic through the end of the day.

“A tropical depression is likely to form when the disturbance is in the vicinity of the Bahamas late this week,” the NHC said in its latest forecast. “Interests in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Bahamas should monitor the progress of this system.”

AccuWeather is also tracking both systems. Its forecasters suggest that Humberto may intensify into a hurricane late this weekend or early next week. Its forecast track would likely bring rain and gusty wind to Bermuda on Sunday evening, and then create dangerous rip currents for the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the U.S. East Coast starting this weekend and lasting through the middle of next week.

AccuWeather forecasters also noted that conditions are favorable for the second system to form a tropical development later this week. They said it could bring downpours and strong winds to parts of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, and that those along the U.S. East Coast should keep a close eye on the storm as it moves north.