Gulf Of Mexico Disturbance Could Be First Storm Of 2022 Hurricane Season

The National Hurricane Center is tracking a disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico that has a likely chance of developing. If the area of low pressure develops further, it could become the first storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.

The disturbance is located near the Yucatan Peninsula and Southeastern Gulf of Mexico. It's expected to develop (60%) near the northwestern Caribbean Sea in a couple of days, according to the National Hurricane Center's latest forecast on Tuesday (May 31).

"Despite strong upper-level winds over the area, this system could become a tropical depression while it moves northeastward over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and southeastern Gulf of Mexico late this week," the forecast said.

Heavy rainfall is expected across portions of southeast Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala and Belize over the next few days, regardless of development. This rainfall will spread across western Cuba, South Florida and the Florida Keys by the end of the week.

Hurricane season officially starts June 1 and runs through November. The NOAA Climate Prediction Center is predicting an "above-normal" season with 14 to 21 named storms. Six to 10 could be hurricanes, and three to six of those could be major hurricanes, which are of Category 3 or higher.

Here's a look at the list of hurricane names for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season:

• Alex
• Bonnie
• Colin
• Danielle
• Earl
• Fiona
• Gaston
• Hermine
• Ian
• Julia
• Karl
• Lisa
• Martin
• Nicole
• Owen
• Paula
• Richard
• Shary
• Tobias
• Virginie
• Walter