The National Hurricane Center has begun issuing advisories on Potential Tropical Cyclone (P.T.C.) Nine, located in the western Caribbean. Remember that the "potential tropical cyclone" terminology is used when a disturbance has yet to acquire tropical characteristics, but could do so and make a landfall within 48 hours. This allows the National Hurricane Center to begin issuing tropical alerts before the system truly develops.

P.T.C. Nine will likely become a tropical storm on Tuesday. Once that happens, the system would take the name Helene.

The latest forecast track from the National Hurricane Center has the center of circulation moving into the Gulf of Mexico early Wednesday. The storm will intensify into a hurricane as this happens. It will then continue north, likely making landfall somewhere between Pensacola and Tampa on Thursday.

Tropical Storm Warnings and Hurricane Watches have been posted for portions of the Yucatan Peninsula, Western Cuba, and along the gulf coast of Florida. More tropical alerts are likely to be issued in the coming days.

Since impacts along the Gulf Coast are several days away, there is still time for the forecast track to shift around. At this point, Louisiana impacts look very low. A front looks like it will pass through late Wednesday, which will steer the system further to the east. There is still high uncertainty in the future track of the system given it is still a tropical wave. For this reason, keep checking back with the Storm Station for the latest updates.

This is a developing story. Future updates on this storm can be found in the Storm Station Weather Blog HERE.

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