As Hurricane Erin approaches the East Coast, where it's expected to stir up life-threatening conditions along North Carolina's Outer Banks, the National Hurricane Center is watching yet another developing storm.
An area of disturbed weather in the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean may become the next tropical storm, the hurricane center said Aug. 18. It listed the chances of the wave's further development at 50% over the next seven days.
The wave is producing “disorganized showers and thunderstorms” and could form a tropical depression by the end of the week as it moves toward the Windward Islands on the eastern side of the Caribbean, the center said. The region of potential development includes an area between the Windwards and the Dominican Republic.
The developing system would move west-northwestward at about 20 mph, the center said. It's too soon to say where the storm would head once it has developed.
Forecasters at AccuWeather said Erin's displacement of dry air over the Atlantic could help strengthen any storms that do develop.
