SAN ANTONIO — Atlantic Hurricane Season officially begins June 1, but activity in the Eastern Pacific has already developed a tropical storm that bears watching.
A tropical storm named Agatha has formed in the Eastern Pacific, and is heading towards the southern portion of Mexico this weekend.
A hurricane warning is in effect for an area of coastline in southern Mexico for Monday. As Agatha moves closer to the coastline, heavy rains will develop as early as Sunday and continue through Tuesday, bringing potentially life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides as possible threats for the area.
Over the next five days, moisture associated with Agatha will begin to enter the Gulf of Mexico around Tuesday. Tropical storms tend to break apart over land but can also redevelop once back in ocean waters. However, the National Hurricane Center is giving this system a low chance of redevelopment next week; officials will continue to monitor it.
If the system does reform over the Gulf or Mexico, it will be given a new name from the Atlantic Basin set of names.
NOAA's climate prediction center is predicting an above-average hurricane season, making it the seventh consecutive above-average hurricane season. This season NOAA is predicting 14 to 21 named storms, with three to six of those storms expected to become major hurricanes.
The Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.