The The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Hurricane Oscar has formed off the coast of the Bahamas.
Oscar, which the hurricane center characterized as “small,” formed Saturday. Oscar — the 15th named storm of the hurricane season — formed as a tropical storm just east of the Turks and Caicos Islands before quickly becoming a hurricane.
The Government of the Bahamas has issued a hurricane warning for the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeastern Bahamas. The government of Cuba has issued a hurricane watch for the provinces of Guantanamo, Holguin and Las Tunas.
The Turks and Caicos Islands and southeastern Bahamas can expect heavy rain later tonight and tomorrow, the hurricane center said. The rain is expected to spread to eastern Cuba on Sunday.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds were clocked at 80 mph with higher gusts. Its center was located about 165 miles east-southeast of southeastern Bahamas and about 470 miles east of Camaguey, Cuba.
Tropical Storm Nadine formed hours earlier in the western Caribbean and moving west toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. It made landfall near Belize City in Belize at 12 noon Eastern.
Heavy rains and tropical storm conditions occurred over parts of Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Belize City and from Belize to Cancun, Mexico, including Cozumel.
Atlantic hurricane season officially started June 1 and ends Nov. 30with most activity between mid-August and mid-October. Hurricane activity tends to peak in mid-September, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In Florida, Gulf Coast communities are struggling in the wake of back-to-back hurricanes, which Hurricane Helene rammed into the region less than two weeks before the hurricane Milton arrived.