Tropical storm Ernesto may threaten Jamaica
A satellite image taken by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association shows hurricane Bud about 110 miles off the coast of Mexico on May 25, 2012.
Tropical Storm Ernesto may menace Jamaica this week, reported the Weather Channel, as hurricane season begins to amp up in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico.
According to Weather.com, Ernesto has already hit the remote Windward Islands with 63 mph winds, and its center has hit the Caribbean Sea. The Jamaican government issued a tropical storm warning at 11:00 AM EDT Saturday.
It's too early to predict if Ernesto will pose a threat to the USA, Weather.com reports.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Florence has appeared in the Atlantic ocean, near the Cape Verde islands, the sixth named storm of the 2012 hurricane season. Weather.com reports the storm doesn't yet pose any threat to land, but is worthy of continuing observation.
New Orleans was also keeping a careful eye on Tropical Depression 6, which has formed in the far Eastern Atlantic, reported the Times Picayune.
A tropical depression can be the precursor to a bigger storm, and is defined by the first appearance of both lowered pressure and organized circulation in the midst of a thunderstorm complex, according to the University of Illinois.
You can track this seasons' storms via the NOAA here.