Forecasters watching four tropical disturbances in the Atlantic Ocean

Forecasters are watching four tropical disturbances in the Atlantic Ocean, with two having a strong likelihood of forming into tropical depressions in the next five days, according to Sunday advisories from the National Hurricane Center.

The first area forecasters are watching is between the west coast of Africa and the Leeward Islands. The Sunday advisory said this one is has a “well-defined low pressure system” that “continues to get better organized.” They give it a near 100 percent chance of forming into a tropical depression Sunday night or Monday “while it moves westward or west-northwestward across the central tropical Atlantic.”

The second area of weather is just off the coast of western Africa and is showing “signs of organization” with showers and thunderstorms. A tropical depression is expected to form as the disturbance moves westward over the Atlantic. Forecasters give it a 90 percent chance of forming into a depression within 48 hours or within the next five days.

The Sunday forecast directed the Cabo Verde Islands to “monitor the progress of this system as gusty winds and locally heavy rainfall is possible there Monday night and Tuesday.”

Three other areas forecasters are monitoring seem less likely to develop soon. One system was in the central Caribbean, where upper-level winds make strengthening unlikely. Forecasters give it a 0 percent chance of forming.

Another area forecasters are watching: “A trough of low pressure located just southeast of Bermuda is producing disorganized cloudiness and showers.“ They give it a 30 percent chance of forming in the next five days.

Forecasters also predicted Sunday night a new tropical wave will emerge off the west coast of Africa by the middle or later part of this week. They gave it a 20 percent chance of developing into a depression in the next five days.

The next storms to strengthen in the Atlantic will be called Paulette, Rene and Sally.

Tampa Bay doesn’t face an imminent threat from any of these storms, but still has a rainy Labor Day weekend in store. There was a 40 percent chance of rain Sunday, according to Spectrum Bay News 9, and a 60 percent chance Monday.

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