Florida threatened by another major late-season tropical storm

Florida is at risk of being hit by yet another major tropical storm only weeks after Hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated towns across the state.

Meteorologists are currently tracking a new disturbance predicted to evolve into a storm in the Caribbean Sea. The storm, to be named Sara, will form in the western Caribbean later this week and may make a turn towards south Florida as a powerful hurricane next week if wind patterns change, according to the Hurricane Tracker App.

“North of the Caribbean, there will be a zone of wind shear that will initially tend to prevent the northward movement of any budding feature in the Caribbean,” AccuWeather wrote in an update.

“However, the natural blocking mechanism could dissolve during the third week of the month and allow any tropical storm to move northward, in which case interests in South Florida and the Keys may need to stay vigilant.”

The most recent storm, Rafael, dissipated on Sunday after hitting Cuba as a category 3 hurricane on 3 November. Rafael gained strength again after entering the Gulf of Mexico, where it became the most powerful hurricane in the month of November since at least hurricane-tracking records began in 1851.

Hurricane season is considered to officially end on the last day of November, with storms generally expected to slow and weaken towards the end of the month. But as storms become increasingly unpredictable as a result of the climate crisis, hurricane season may extend its length.

“Should the feature become a hurricane, it would be the 12th of the season, which is a testament to the supercharged nature of the season, where the historical average is seven hurricanes,” Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather’s head hurricane expert, said.

AccuWeather forecasters say that warmer ocean temperatures could lead to tropical storms as late as December this year, with Florida and the east coast most likely to be hit.