Two major storms have residents and visitors in both Florida and Mexico on edge.
As of 24SEP, a potential hurricane was forming in the Caribbean and expected to develop into Hurricane Helene later.
Forecasters said the storm will gather strength as it passes over very warm Gulf of Mexico waters and will then slam into the U.S. Gulf Coast as a major hurricane later this week.
Hurricane John hit Mexico's southern Pacific coast late on 23SEP as a major category 3 storm. Authorities were warning residents to protect themselves against potentially deadly storm surges and torrential rain.
The storm, packing maximum sustained winds of 193 kph, made landfall south-southwest of Marquelia in the state of Guerrero around 9:15 p.m. CST on 23SEP.
Marquelia is roughly 120 km southeast of Acapulco.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects John to produce 25 to 50 cm of rain along the Oaxaca coast and southeast Guerrero.
The Caribbean/Gulf storm hasn’t fully formed, so the NHC is calling it “Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine” to warn people of the threat. The center on 24SEP said Nine “is expected to become a large and powerful hurricane.”
“Strengthening is expected during the next few days, and the system is forecast to become a hurricane on Wednesday and continue strengthening on Thursday as it moves across the eastern Gulf of Mexico,” the hurricane center said.
Hurricane and tropical storm watches are in effect for parts of Mexico and Cuba, CNN reports. A tropical storm watch was raised on 23SEP for Florida’s Dry Tortugas and part of the Keys.
Early forecasts show the storm tracking north of Tampa towards the Florida panhandle. Several tracking maps suggest a hurricane could hit the popular tourist town of Apalachicola, Florida (east of Panama City Beach and southwest of Tallahassee).
Many maps show severe flooding could occur in areas between the Panhandle and Tampa. The state of Florida has issued a state of emergency for 41 of the state’s 67 counties.
According to the hurricane center, the system has a 90% chance of forming into a hurricane in the next 48 hours.
