Tropical Storm Danny Strengthening in the Atlantic

The fourth named storm of the Atlantic Hurricane Season has officially formed.

As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, Tropical Storm Danny was kicking up about 1,500 miles east of the Windward islands in the eastern Caribbean, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. The storm was heading on a west-northwestward track of 12 mph. Forecasters at the National Weather service anticipate Danny will strengthen into a hurricane sometime on Thursday. The storm is expected to be southeast of Puerto Rico by Sunday.

A second disturbance is also under watch, located within a couple hundred miles Bermuda over the west Atlantic. As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, the storm had a 30 percent chance of developing further over the next five days. The storm, forecasters noted, could see development by the weekend as it moves northward.

While neither storm currently poses an immediate threat to the United States, forecasters say they bear careful monitoring.

In the meantime, Tampa Bay area residents are warned that continued afternoon rain storms may add insult to injury in an already drenched region. Flooding concerns remain high in Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties where saturated grounds and high river levels are still the most immediate threats.

“We looking at good chances for showers and thunderstorms in the next several days,” weather service meteorologist John McMichael said of the Tampa Bay area. These storms, he added, may serve to exacerbate ongoing flooding concerns in parts of the region.

Between the afternoon storms and the disturbances brewing in the Atlantic, residents are urged to keep a close eye on the forecast.

Check out your local Patch’s homepage for an extended forecast for your neighborhood.

Graphic courtesy of the National Hurricane Center

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 11 p.m. with the latest information from the National Weather Service.