‘Storm Oscar’ is now brewing in the Atlantic at same time Nadine causes hurricane fears

Hurricane trackers have identified a new storm brewing in the Caribbean that could develop into ‘Oscar’ in the coming days as it gains momentum in the Atlantic.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) Branch Chief Dan Brown told DailyMail.com that the storm is already on course for ‘flash flooding and potential landslides’ not unlike Hurricane Helene that hit Florida and North Carolina.

The low-pressure system is currently sitting off the costs of Costa Rica and Panama, producing showers and thunderstorms.

NHC reported Wednesday that potential Oscar could ‘gradually develop if the system stays over water while it moves slowly northwestward towards Central America.’

The storm alert comes as potential tropical storm ‘Nadine’ is also moving toward the Caribbean that could hit Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. 

‘The system could get a little bit organized as it moves into Central America over the next few days and could produce quite a bit of heavy rainfall,’ Brown explained, noting the effects could be similar to those brought by Hurricane Helene.

But, he cautioned that this storm is still in flux — making it too early to predict what a nascent Oscar’s true final course might be or where it might wreak the most havoc.  

‘It’s hard to say when the height of the storm will hit because there is a broad area of low pressure established over parts of Central America,’ Brown advised.

As of NHC’s latest, Oscar now has a 10 percent chance of growing into a tropical storm within the next 48 hours and a 20 percent chance within the next seven days. 

An official NHC update Wednesday morning stated that the storm could turn into a tropical depression or tropical storm Oscar if the system stays on course.

‘Regardless,’ NHC forecasters Dave Zelinsky and Lisa Bucci wrote, ‘locally heavy rainfall is possible across portions of Central America later this week.’

While NHC models showed the storm’s current path pointing toward the coastline off Belize and Guatemala, Brown told DailyMail.com wider areas should prepare.

‘Portions of Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, el Salvadore and potentially parts of southeastern Mexico,’ he said.

‘It looks like the rainfall is already occurring and will likely continue over the next few days,’ Brown noted.  
 
Tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes are manifestations of the same weather phenomenon, according to Dr Mathew Barlow, professor of environmental, earth and atmospheric sciences at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

‘Tropical cyclone is the general type of storm,’ Dr Barlow told Newsweek.

‘A tropical depression is a tropical cyclone with max winds of 38 mph or less. A tropical storm is a tropical cyclone with max winds of 39-73 mph. A hurricane is a tropical cyclone with max winds of 74 mph or higher,’ he explained.

‘The system [yellow X] could get a little bit organized as it moves into Central America over the next few days,’ Hurricane specialist and NHC Branch Chief Dan Brown told DailyMail.com, ‘and could cause flash flooding and potential landslides ‘ – not unlike Hurricane Helene

An official NHC update Wednesday stated that the storm could turn into a tropical depression or worse ‘if the system stays over water while it moves slowly northwestward towards Central America.’ Above, large clouds over Havana due to tropical storm Helene, September 24, 2024

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), hurricanes typically develop from tropical waves that combine with warm ocean waters. 

Thunderstorms and other atmospheric turbulence can help prod a stormfront into gathering hurricane-force power, as warmer ocean air rises into these storm clouds, creating a low pressure area underneath it.

A hurricane’s maximum sustained wind speed, defined as the highest one-minute average wind speed at a particular point in time, sets the cut-off between these powerful storms and lesser tropical cyclones.

Florida counties that were hit hardest by Hurricane Milton have reportedly returned to a fragile state of normalcy this week, with power companies restoring electricity to an estimated 93 percent of the 3.4 million homes and businesses that lost service.

Gas stations reopened and students preparing to return to school this past Monday although many neighborhoods still remain without power, as they face severely damaged homes and businesses, their streets flooded and filled with debris.

Milton’s death toll currently hovers at roughly 11 currently, compared to the much more finalized death toll from Hurricane Helene, which is now over 240.

The White House has approved over $1.8 billion for recovery efforts in southern states pummeled by the one-two punch of hurricanes Helene and Milton.