Florida will bear the brunt of the impact of the approaching storm

Florida will likely “bear the brunt” of an approaching storm next week, regardless of whether that system remains a tropical rain storm or strengthens into a hurricane.

The Atlantic hurricane season has grown rapidly over the past month, with Hurricane Helene making landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida on September 26 as a Category 4 hurricane.

Helene's wrath caused devastation in several states, including catastrophic flooding in North Carolina. According to the Associated Press, the death toll from the devastating storm stood at 200 at the time of publication, although there are concerns that the death toll is much higher than officially reported.

Meteorologists recently turned their attention to a disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico that has a 40 percent chance of strengthening into a tropical storm within seven days, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast.

In the Pacific, a storm called Tropical Depression Eleven-E recently hit Mexico, and the remnants of that storm are expected to merge with the disturbance in the Gulf after it passes Mexico.

AccuWeather reported that Florida will likely experience impacts related to the combined storm sometime next week.

“While the exact path and intensity of the feature unfolding in the Gulf remains to be determined, Florida will bear the brunt this time,” AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said in the AccuWeather report. “At this point, intensity will range from a widespread tropical rainstorm to perhaps the impact of a more compact, full-blown hurricane.”

Newsweek I emailed AccuWeather for comment.

Regardless of whether a hurricane develops, Florida is expecting heavy rains to accompany the disturbance this weekend and into next week. The rain could hamper Hurricane Helene relief efforts, particularly in the Tampa Bay area.

AccuWeather included a map of impacts in Florida with the report. According to the map, the southwestern part of Florida will be most at risk from the approaching storm, particularly in the Cape Coral area.

20 to 30 centimeters of rain could fall in this region. Much of the rest of the Florida Peninsula remains at risk of widespread rainfall amounts of 2 to 8 inches. AccuWeather meteorologists warned that flooding from the heavy rain could inundate roads in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples, Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Kirk and Tropical Storm Leslie have also formed and are brewing in the Atlantic Ocean southeast of the United States. The pair, which is expected to continue to strengthen, is expected to remain at sea, although meteorologists are increasingly concerned that Kirk, currently a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 145 miles per hour, could hit Europe.

Both Kirk and Leslie will have indirect impacts on the U.S. by causing waves and rip currents along the East Coast. Warnings are expected to be issued this weekend for areas affected by the dangerous waters on the East Coast.