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November 3, 2024

Hurricane Watch issued as Potential Tropical Cyclone 18 expected to become Rafael in Caribbean Sea

We may have entered the final month of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, but the tropics are showing no signs of cooling down after the National Hurricane Center (NHC) designated an area of disturbed weather in the Caribbean Sea as Potential Tropical Cyclone Eighteen.A potential tropical cyclone (PTC) designation allows the NHC and other governments to issue Tropical Storm Watches and Warnings when a disturbance isn’t quite at tropical storm strength but is expected to get there soon, with storm impacts occurring within 36 hours.In this case, forecasters believe the tropical disturbance could eventually develop into Hurricane Rafael in the coming days.”The environmental conditions appear conducive for strengthening during the next few days, and it seems likely that the system will become a tropical storm before it reaches Jamaica and a hurricane before it reaches Cuba,” the NHC said. WHAT TO DO WHEN WATCHES OR WARNINGS ARE ISSUED FOR YOUR TOWNPotential Tropical Cyclone Eighteen, which was previously designated as Invest 97L, is moving northward at about 7 mph in the south-central Caribbean Sea with 35 mph winds.After moving into the Gulf of Mexico later this week, the system could bring heavy rainfall and gusty winds to Florida and parts of the Southeast U.S.The NHC said the system is moving northward toward Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Cuba. Due to the threats posed by Potential Tropical Cyclone Eighteen, a Hurricane Watch is in place for the Cayman Islands, and a Tropical Storm Warning is in place for Jamaica. HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHERUnder the current track, the NHC said residents of the Florida Keys should closely monitor this system for Tropical Storm Watches or Warnings as soon as Sunday night or early Monday. Potential Tropical Storm Eighteen is expected to become a tropical storm on Monday and pass near Jamaica on Monday night and Tuesday. Later this week, the system is expected to approach the northern Gulf Coast as Tropical Storm Rafael. It’s too soon to determine what impacts will occur, but residents along the U.S. Gulf Coast should stay informed.