Tropical Depression Nine has developed off the coast of Mexico in the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) confirmed. The NHC predicted that it will be the Atlantic's first hurricane this season, posing a dangerous landfall threat to the U.S. The system is currently organizing, and the NHC said it is forecast to become a tropical storm on Wednesday, October 7, and develop into a hurricane a day later.
The Miami-based agency, which tracks and predicts tropical weather systems, stated that the system is likely to become a Category 2 hurricane by Friday night, with estimated winds reaching 100 mph. It will be named Isaias. A tropical depression has maximum sustained winds of 38 mph or less, and unlike tropical storms and hurricanes, depressions are identified by numbers rather than names. The system is moving eastward at about 5 mph.
According to Fox Weather, the forecast track shows Tropical Depression Nine heading directly toward the southern U.S., with impacts centered over Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and the Florida Panhandle. Along this track, the depression is expected to pass north of the Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday, October 8, and approach the U.S. northern Gulf Coast on Friday, October 9.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Weather Prediction Centre (WPC) has issued a Level 2 out of 4 flash flood risk for parts of the Southeast for Friday and Saturday. The Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1, runs through November 30.