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Forecasters are eyeing a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico that could strike the Texas coast by early next week.
Tropical Depression 22 is expected to meander through the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend, before approaching the Texas coast early next week. Exactly what part of the coast the system hits was unclear early Friday, according to KXAS-TV (NBC5) meteorologist Grant Johnston.
“The forecast is still a bit uncertain, but they’re watching it closely along the Texas coast,” Johnston said.
The tropical depression could strengthen into a tropical storm on Friday, then into a hurricane by Sunday before weakening back into a tropical storm before it hits Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center.
As of Friday morning, it was unclear whether the tropical depression would have any effects on weather in North Texas, according to Matt Stalley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.
“Much of our local forecast may actually depend on the future track of the system, of which a great deal of uncertainty exists beyond the first couple of days,” Stalley said.
The most likely effects of the system on North Texas could be increased cloud coverage, slightly lower temperatures and a chance of showers, Stalley added.
Out in the Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Wilfred developed Friday off the coast of western Africa. Wilfred was the last available name on this year’s list of storm names, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Get Out the Greek Alphabet For the Rest of 2020,” the hurricane center said in a tweet.
Now that NOAA is out of names, the Greek alphabet will be used for any storms that develop during the remainder of hurricane season. If Tropical Depression 22 develops into a tropical storm, as is forecast, the storm will be dubbed “Alpha.”
This is the second time on record that NOAA has run out of storm names, the first time was in 2005 — the year Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana.