BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Aug. 26, 2021– There was very little storm activity in the first two months of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, but over the last few weeks things rapidly intensified, and thus far, at what is roughly the mid-point in the hurricane season, there have been five named storms — a new record, says the experts at the National Hurricane Centre.

Over the past couple of days, three disturbances sprang up in the Atlantic. This morning Tropical Depression 9 was formed. At 2:00 p.m. today, Thursday, August 26, it was located a few hundred miles southeast of the Cayman Islands. By 4:00 p.m. it had developed into Tropical Storm Ida, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.

That system is expected to cause storm conditions over the Cayman Islands and western Cuba later on tonight and tomorrow, and to move past Jamaica and into the Yucatan Peninsula, closer to Belize, this weekend.

The storm is expected to strengthen within the Bay of Campeche and to become a hurricane before reaching the northern Gulf Coast. The Florida Panhandle, Texas coast and the coast of Louisiana are expected to be impacted, starting early next week.

Other disturbances at sea at this time include a low-pressure system about 600 miles from Bermuda. That system is expected to become a tropical depression as the weekend approaches and to move eastward over the next few days. By Sunday, the system is expected to increase its speed in a northeasterly motion. The system has a 70% chance of formation over the next 5 days.

The third and last system over the tropical Atlantic is a tropical wave located midway between the Cabo Verde Islands and the Lesser Antilles. The system is expected to turn northward next week after forming into a tropical depression.

None of these systems pose any direct threat to Belize at this time.