Tropical depression Nine forms in Atlantic, could become season's first major hurricane

Tropical Depression Nine has developed off the coast of Mexico in the Gulf of America, the National Hurricane Centre confirmed.

The NHC predicted that it will be the Atlantic’s first hurricane this season, making a dangerous landfall threat to the U.S.

The system is currently getting better organized and NHC said it is forecast to be a tropical storm on Wednesday, October 7, and would develop into a hurricane a day after.

The Miami based agency, NHC, which tracks and predicts tropical weather systems, said the system is likely to become a Category 2 hurricane by Friday night, with estimated winds at 100 mph.

It will be named Isaias.

A tropical depression has maximum sustained winds of 38 mph or less, and unlike tropical storms and hurricanes, tropical depressions are identified with numbers and not names.

The depression has a path toward the east near 5 mph.

Tropical Depression Nine’s forecast track shows it heading directly toward the southern U.S., with impacts centered over Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle, per Fox Weather.

While on the forecast track, the depression is expected to pass to the north of the Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday, October 8, and approach the U.S. northern Gulf Coast on Friday, October 9.

NOAA’s Weather Prediction Centre (WPC) has issued a Level 2 out of 4 flash flood risk for parts of the Southeast on Friday and Saturday.

The Atlantic hurricane season, underway since June 1, runs through November 30.