2 Tropical Systems Aim Toward Florida as State Grapples With COVID Spike

If it's not one thing, then it's another for Florida this summer. As the state deals with record numbers of COVID-19 cases with the lurking Delta variant, there are two weather patterns in the Atlantic Ocean that could turn into tropical depressions this week. And both could have Florida in their sights.

The state in 2021 has already dealt with Elsa, which skirted the western part of the state as a Category 1 hurricane before downgrading and slamming the coastline as a high-level tropical storm.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) on Sunday evening stated the two systems in the eastern Atlantic could likely develop into tropical depressions, and perhaps later as tropical storms. There is no certain cone path yet beyond the next five days, but each of their current locations—both east and south of the Lesser Antilles—could set them up for landfalls along the U.S.'s Gulf of Mexico border if weather patterns and water temperatures dictate it.

The closest system was about 400 miles east-southeast of the Leeward Islands, according to the hurricane center's 8 p.m. report Sunday. That system is producing a swath of "disorganized showers and thunderstorms" for now, the NHC stated.

"However, environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for gradual development over the next few days, and a tropical depression could form while the low moves west-northwestward at about 15 mph," the forecast read.

This system could reach the Lesser Antilles and maybe even Puerto Rico by late Monday and early Tuesday, with the bulk of it being heavy rains.

It could reach Hispaniola, or maybe even Cuba, by the middle of the week, setting the storm up for a potential Florida landfall by the weekend.

The second system is a little farther out in the Atlantic Ocean with a 40 percent chance of developing into a tropical system within the next five days, with a 30 percent chance of development over a 48-hour period—or Tuesday evening.

"Although environmental conditions appear to be only marginally conducive for development, this system could still become a tropical depression later this week while it moves toward the west-southwest or west at around 10 mph," the service said.

That storm could have a similar trajectory as the other disturbance.

This is happening as COVID-19 cases surge in Florida, reaching record levels almost every day last week.

The state's health department reported 134,506 cases of the virus between July 30 and August 5, including 175 deaths. This included a new record of 23,903 cases reported on Friday, and a whopping 13,747 hospitalizations from the virus by Saturday (Aug. 6).

The state's government has been in a tussle with local lawmakers over whether to mandate wearing masks or not. Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said making masks mandatory would underline the effectiveness of the vaccine.

​​"The federal government has no right to tell parents that in order for their kids to attend school in person, they must be forced to wear a mask all day, every day," DeSantis said. "Many Florida schoolchildren have suffered under forced masking policies, and it is prudent to protect the ability of parents to make decisions regarding the wearing of masks by their children."

Meanwhile, hurricane prognosticators have predicted a busier-than-normal season for tropical storms in the second half of hurricane season. Hurricane season, by the calendar, is June 1 — November 30. Meaning that a busy hurricane season could hit Florida just as the coronavirus starts to spread rampant once again.