On Saturday morning, Tropical Depression 14 emerged in the Gulf of Mexico, posing a potential threat to Florida's west coast as a hurricane next week, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC). As of 11:00 a.m., the system was positioned 210 miles north-northeast of Veracruz, Mexico, and 350 miles from Progreso, Mexico, with winds clocking in at 35 mph, moving north-northeast at 6 mph.
The prospective tropical storm, which may be named Milton, is expected to pick up speed early in the week and could escalate to hurricane strength before making landfall on Florida's southwest coast by midweek. Currently, the depression is unleashing heavy rain and thunderstorms over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, and the NHC forecasts a slow movement.
Anticipated Path and Impact Areas
The NHC has identified the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys, and the northwestern Bahamas as areas of interest. Hurricane and tropical storm watches are likely to be issued for parts of Florida by Sunday.
Regardless of its development, the meteorological body warns of potentially heavy rainfall in certain regions of Mexico over the next couple of days and across much of Florida from late this weekend through the middle of next week.
Florida's Recovery Concerns
The looming threat of yet another hurricane in Florida, coming so soon after the destructive passage of Hurricane Helene, is a sobering prospect for residents. Those in the northern and western regions of the state, who bore the brunt of the previous storm's impact, are particularly on edge.