- EF-1 tornadoes ripped through Cypress, Waller County areas with winds at more than 100 mph, NWS reports
- Houston-area storm damage updates: Clean up continues after NWS says two EF-1 tornadoes and powerful derecho ripped through SE Texas
- Low risk of damaging winds, hail from Saturday storms
- EF 1 tornadoes ripped through Cypress, Waller County areas at more than 100 mph, NWS reports
- Caddo Mounds State Historic Site to celebrate new visitor center, traditional grass house after 2019 tornado
Hurricane Center eyes storm near Mexico as likely first named tropical system of the season
According to the National Hurricane Center, Potential Tropical Cyclone One is located 50 miles north of Cancun, Mexico. The storm system has a 90 percent chance of becoming a tropical system. If that does happen, the system will be named Alex.
The storm system currently has maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour, with gusts up around 50 miles per hour. It is moving northeast at 6 miles per hour.
SEE ALSO: Experts predict more active than average Atlantic hurricane season
By Saturday, the storm is expected to be passing over Florida and dumping heavy amounts of rain.
The storm system is not going to cause major impacts in North Carolina. However, it will bring passing clouds inland Saturday and wind gusts will start picking up at the coast Sunday as the system makes its closest approach to the Tar Heel state.
All weekend, conditions in the water off the North Carolina coast could be dangerous. Waves will increase in size and the rip current threat will be high. Any swimmers should use extreme caution.
WATCH: First Alert to Hurricane Season
That naming convention may appear strange to some people, but it’s a common strategy the National Weather Service employs for some storm systems.
The systems that become Potential Tropical Cyclones are storm systems that have not yet become tropical in nature, but they are expected to do so in the not-so-distant future.
Using that naming convention allows the National Weather Service to issue watches and warnings and begin developing the storm’s cone of uncertainty. That allows the NWS to get an early start on warning people who are potentially in the storm’s path.
SEE ALSO: Get your emergency kit ready ahead of hurricane season
Copyright © 2022 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.