A newly formed tropical depression is "meandering" in the Atlantic on Sept. 19, before forecasters say it could become a tropical storm later in the weekend.
Tropical Depression Six, as it is currently known, formed on Sept. 19, the National Hurricane Center said. By later in the night, it could gather enough strength to become the next named tropical storm in the 2026 hurricane season.
The next tropical storm will get the name Fay.
As of 11 a.m. ET, Tropical Depression Six was located about 525 miles southwest of the Azores islands. It had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph and was moving north at about 2 mph, according to the hurricane center.
A tropical storm forms when wind speeds reach at least 39 mph.
The depression is expected to encounter
conditions that make it favorable for slight strengthening over the next day, and its wind speeds could get as high as 45 mph. It will then gradually weaken after about 36 hours and dissipate after a few days.
It's not expected to bring any direct impacts to land, AccuWeather reported.
"This depression may strengthen into a tropical storm and slowly move northeastward before changing direction to the southwest and heading away from the Azores into early next week," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Alexander Duffus.
Depression could become Tropical Storm Fay
A potential Tropical Storm Fay would come after a lull since Tropical Storm Edouard made landfall in Louisiana in early September, amid what has been a historically slow Atlantic hurricane season. This is the longest a hurricane season on record has gone without a hurricane so far. El Niño has been suppressing the formation and organization of storms.
Fay would be the sixth named storm in the Atlantic this season, coming weeks after the average for a sixth named storm, which falls on Aug. 29, according to data from 1991 to 2020.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane center eyes depression that could become Tropical Storm Fay
