After a brief lull to close out September, the tropics are getting active again as the 2020 hurricane season is closing in on a new record for the number of storms in a single year.
None of the current activity is expected to threaten the Outer Banks. A coastal trough and weak low pressure area just offshore is bringing us showers and breezy conditions today and into tonight.
The National Hurricane Center on Sunday morning was tracking Tropical Storm Gamma off the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, which is forecast to remain in the southern Gulf of Mexico through the upcoming week.
Gamma is expected to produce heavy rainfall for several days over portions of southeastern Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, Central America, and far western Cuba. This rainfall could result in life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides, particularly in the mountainous regions of southeastern Mexico and Central America.
National Hurricane Center forecasters said even though Gamma is offshore, tropical storm conditions will continue across portions of the Yucatan Peninsula today.
An area of disturbed weather near Jamaica could become a tropical depression by Tuesday.
The system should move west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph across the central and western Caribbean Sea today through Tuesday, and then move into the southern or southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday night and Wednesday.
Locally heavy rainfall and gusty winds will be possible across portions of Hispaniola, Jamaica, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands during the next few days
If it reaches tropical storm status, it would be the 25th named system of 2020, trailing only 2005 which had 27.
The list of tropical cyclone names in the Atlantic has been exhausted and is now in the Greek alphabet. Delta is the next name on the list, followed by Epsilon.
Two other disturbances in the central Atlantic are also being watched, but they show little signs of development over the next five days.
This story originally appeared on OBXToday.com. Read More local stories here.
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