Watching the Gulf: Potential tropical development

A tropical system could form Thursday or Friday

A tropical wave in the Caribbean Thursday could become a more organized system in the Gulf by the weekend (Copyright 2021 by KSAT - All rights reserved.)

We’re in the middle of the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane Season and, right on cue, the tropics are heating up!

The end of August/early September is the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane Season. (Copyright 2021 by KSAT - All rights reserved.)

As of Thursday, the National Hurricane Center was monitoring a tropical wave in the Caribbean Sea that could become the next tropical depression or tropical storm. Regardless of title, this system is expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico by the upcoming weekend.

What We Know

  • A tropical wave will likely become more organized Thursday and Friday, potentially becoming the next named storm
  • If it reaches tropical storm status, it would take the name Ida
  • While there is still some uncertainty, there is increasing confidence that this tropical system will stay east of Texas
  • However, those on the Gulf Coast from Houston to the Florida Panhandle should monitor forecast updates closely
  • We will continually update you on-air, online, on our KSAT Weather Authority App, and on our Hurricane Tracker App
The latest spaghetti forecast model plots for the tropical system expected to enter the Gulf (Copyright 2021 by KSAT - All rights reserved.)

Types of Tropical Systems

There are several types of tropical systems, or cyclones. Meteorologist Sarah Spivey explains below.

Stay Alert

To get be prepared during hurricane season, be sure to bookmark our hurricane page or download the KSAT Hurricane Tracker App. You can also find your local forecast anytime on the KSAT Weather page.


About the Authors:

Sarah Spivey is a San Antonio native who grew up watching KSAT. She has been a proud member of the KSAT Weather Authority Team since 2017. Sarah is a Clark High School and Texas A&M University graduate. She previously worked at KTEN News. When Sarah is not busy forecasting, she enjoys hanging out with her husband and cat, and playing music.

Kaiti Blake is a child weather-geek-turned-meteorologist. A member of the KSAT Weather Authority, Kaiti is a co-host of the Whatever the Weather video podcast. After graduating from Texas Tech University, Kaiti worked at WJTV 12 in Jackson, Mississippi and KTAB in Abilene.