2020 Hurricane Season Begins – Next Tropical Depression Could Form In Days

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on Monday. A tropical depression or storm is expected to form in the western Gulf of Mexico later this week. 

The Weather Channel is monitoring an area in the tropics that is currently experiencing a disturbance near the Guatemala-Yucatan border.

Already, Arthur and Bertha were two pre-season storms, making this the sixth Atlantic hurricane season in a row with at least one or more storms before June 1. 

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts a 70% probability a tropical depression or storm will develop in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico in the coming days. 

At the moment, the system has been called Invest 93L by the NHC, but if it develops more this week, it could be named Cristobal. 

Spaghetti models, at the moment, show the system will remain around the southwestern Gulf of Mexico for the next several days. Then it could creep towards Texas and Mexico later in the week, bringing along lots of tropical moisture with it.

Meteorologist Ryan Maue said, “weather models continue to predict a high potential of a strong tropical storm or hurricane in the western Gulf of Mexico later this week.”

Several weather models suggest the disturbance could organize and head towards an area off Texas and Lousiana known for a significant number of offshore oil drilling platforms. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have forecasted this hurricane season could be above average, with 13 to 19 named storms.