The NBC2 First Alert Hurricane Tracking Team is monitoring Potential Tropical Cyclone 5 (PTC 5) in the Central Tropical Atlantic, which could become Tropical Storm Ernesto as early as today.
As of 11 a.m. Monday, the National Hurricane Center started issuing advisories for PTC 5 which is currently over 600 miles from the Leeward Islands. The developing storm has strengthened with sustained winds of 35 mph and is racing to the west at 26 mph.
The term "potential tropical cyclone" is a term used to describe a system that's not yet currently organized enough to be designated as a formal tropical system but is expected to organize into at least a tropical storm with impacts on land within the next 48 hours.
Using the term "potential tropical cyclone" allows the NHC to issue advisories for land areas that will be impacted by a system that's not yet put together enough to warrant a tropical depression number or tropical storm name.
The developing tropical system is forecast to become Tropical Storm Ernesto by Monday evening and eventually Hurricane Ernesto as early as Wednesday. The current forecast has the hurricane intensifying into a category 2 hurricane during the second half of the week as it makes a sharp northward turn after reaching the Greater Antilles. Computer forecast models are in strong agreement on this northward turn, making this a high-confidence forecast in terms of the storm's track.
A front moving off the east coast of the U.S. will help deflect the storm away from the U.S. mainland, so the storm is not a threat to Florida.
The rest of the tropical Atlantic is quiet for now, but it's important to stay updated as we head into the peak of the hurricane season.
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