Caribbean System Has a 40% Chance of Developing Into Cyclone, Center Says

An area of thunderstorms and clouds is becoming more likely to develop into a tropical cyclone in the next two days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The weather system over the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic has a 40 percent chance of becoming a cyclone, the Center said today in an advisory posted on its website at about 7:45 a.m. Miami time. That’s up from a 30 percent chance six hours earlier.

The tropical wave is moving west-northwest at 5 miles (8 kilometers) to 10 miles an hour. That puts the system on a track of heading toward the Gulf of Mexico, where BP Plc is trying to clean up the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

The June 1-Nov. 30 Atlantic hurricane season is typically most active in August and September. This year, one named storm has formed, Hurricane Alex, which made landfall in northeastern Mexico on June 30.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net.

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