New York, East Coast in Sights of Looming Tropical Storm Development

A storm system in the Atlantic Ocean near Bermuda has begun developing a defined circulation near its middle, and a tropical depression or storm could soon find its way onto the United States' eastern shores.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami released a statement Monday night saying this system was already producing winds of 30-35 mph near its center.

"If the associated shower and thunderstorm activity redevelops near the center, the system is likely to become a tropical depression tonight or tomorrow morning," the NHC said during its 8 p.m. ET advisory on Monday.

The system was first detected by the NHC on Sunday afternoon, when it had less than a 40 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone over the next five days. However, things changed within 24 hours. The storm in the northwestern Atlantic now has more than a 70 percent chance of developing into a tropical depression, or perhaps even a tropical storm, as it moves toward New York, Boston and New England this week.

"The system is expected to turn northward and move towards cooler waters and a region of unfavorable upper-level winds, which should limit additional development. Regardless of development, periods of locally heavy rainfall and gusty winds are expected over Bermuda through tonight," NHS stated.

Once a defined tropical system reaches 35 mph, it becomes a tropical storm. It becomes a Category 1 storm when it hits a minimum of 74 mph sustained winds.

Although tropical systems in the Atlantic season have seen a rather dormant season, this storm comes on the heels of Hurricanes Ian and Julia within the last month. Ian devastated the southwest coast of Florida on September 28 as a high-level Category 4 storm. It leveled many structures on the barrier islands from Naples to Sarasota, with winds clocking more than 150 mph in some places.

Ian left more than 100 people dead, hundreds injured and hundreds of thousands displaced and without power or running water for at least more than a week.

Florida has reported 92 deaths, with nearly 60 of those in hard-hit Lee County, which is where Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Sanibel, Captiva and Pine Island are located. Deaths were also reported in North Carolina, Virginia and Cuba. Cape Coral took winds of 140 mph, which was the most of any inland municipalities.

Ian traversed northeast across Florida, wreaking havoc in Orlando and up through Jacksonville. Ian downgraded into a tropical storm but regained Category 1 strength before it made landfall again in South Carolina.

Julia took a somewhat similar path as Ian's. Both storms began in the Atlantic, about 10-12 degrees north of the equator. Ian took a northward turn once it got into the Caribbean but Julia stayed on a westward path. Julia continued to a landfall as a Category 1 storm in Nicaragua on October 8.

Hurricane season, which begins annually on May 1, officially ends on November 30. There are no other tropical systems in the Atlantic or Pacific basins at the time, according to the hurricane center.