What Hurricanes Are Coming After Milton? New Potential Storm Being Tracked

Meteorologists are tracking a new area for potential tropical development in the Western Caribbean only a few days after Hurricane Milton tore through Florida.
Milton made landfall on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key, Florida, on the state’s west coast. It came only two weeks after Hurricane Helene hit the Big Bend region and caused catastrophic damage across the Southeastern United States.
Earlier this week, National Hurricane Center (NHC) meteorologists were monitoring a disturbance near Bermuda that has since dissipated. Another disturbance near the west coast of Africa is now showing a 50 percent chance of development in the next seven days.
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It’s unclear if the disturbance in the Atlantic will continue to strengthen into tropical storm status. AccuWeather meteorologists also are monitoring a gyre—or a large system of rotating ocean currents—that could strengthen into a stronger storm in the Western Caribbean by the end of next week. The NHC has not yet begun tracking this area on its website.
“We expect another gyre to get going over Central America later next week,” AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said of the potential storm in AccuWeather’s report on Thursday. “From this large, slowly spinning area of low pressure, a more distinct area of showers and thunderstorms may form, and from that, a tropical depression or tropical storm may evolve.”
AccuWeather senior meteorologist Matt Benz told Newsweek that if the storm were to develop, it wouldn’t be until October 17 to 19. At that point, meteorologists will have a better idea about the storm’s potential path. However, if it develops, the storm will likely take one of two paths.
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“One possibility would take the system westward into Central America and southern Mexico, and the other is, unfortunately, toward Florida,” DaSilva said in AccuWeather’s report.
It is unlikely the storm would take aim at Texas, given disruptive breezes in that area during this time of year.
DaSilva cited very warm ocean temperatures as a concerning factor that could contribute to tropical storm development in the Western Caribbean. Similarly warm water contributed to rapid strengthening for Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Benz said.
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The next two tropical storms will be named Nadine and Oscar, although it’s possible neither system will strengthen into a tropical storm or greater.
The system near Africa could develop much sooner than the potential storm in the Western Caribbean. However, if a tropical storm does develop, the NHC anticipates it will be short-lived.
“On Saturday, environmental conditions are forecast to become less conducive, and further development appears unlikely after that time,” the NHC’s report said.
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season runs through November.