The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has issued a Hurricane Watch for Florida’s Gulf Coast, including Tampa Bay, ahead of Potential Tropical Cyclone 9.
The system is forecasted to move through the northwestern Caribbean Sea tonight before entering the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday and Thursday. While current maximum sustained winds are at 35 mph, the NHC expects the system to intensify into a hurricane by Wednesday, with further strengthening likely on Thursday.
The NHC reports a 100% chance of formation within the next 48 hours.
“As of 5 a.m., the system remains classified as Potential Tropical Cyclone 9, not yet a fully developed tropical system,” said Max Defender 8 Meteorologist Leigh Spann. “However, it is expected to rapidly intensify and organize once it reaches the Gulf of Mexico. A major hurricane could pass just off our coast as it tracks northeast toward Florida’s Big Bend.”
### Watches and Warnings in Effect:
**Storm Surge Watch**:
– Indian Pass southward to Flamingo
– Tampa Bay
– Charlotte Harbor
**Hurricane Watch**:
– Cabo Catoche to Tulum, Mexico
– Tampa Bay
– Englewood to Indian Pass
– Cuban province of Pinar del Rio
**Tropical Storm Warning**:
– Grand Cayman
– Rio Lagartos to Tulum, Mexico
– Cuban provinces of Artemisa, Pinar del Rio, and the Isle of Youth
**Tropical Storm Watch**:
– Dry Tortugas
– Lower Keys west of the Seven Mile Bridge
– Flamingo to south of Englewood
– West of Indian Pass to the Walton Bay County Line
The NHC also forecasts 3 to 6 inches of rainfall, with totals of up to 10 inches possible, over parts of the southeastern United States.