FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — It’s looking increasingly likely that the Atlantic’s first named storm of 2022 could form this week in the Gulf of Mexico, possibly affecting Florida by week’s end.
Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center said as of 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday that there’s now a 70% chance a tropical depression or Tropical Storm Alex could emerge in the warm Gulf waters in the next five days, fueled from the remnants of what was Hurricane Agatha in the Pacific.
Warm water temperatures are an optimal factor in tropical storm and hurricane development. In mid-June of last year, Tropical Storm Claudette formed in the Gulf waters and came ashore in Louisiana.
