A new tropical storm could form in the Atlantic this week and continue the 2025 hurricane season’s backloaded burst of tropical activity. Even though fewer storms tend to form now, in the late-season, history has shown how devastating they can be, particularly since development areas shift closer to land.

Tropical Storm Melissa formed over the central Caribbean Tuesday morning with sustained winds of 50 mph, becoming the 13th named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, forecasters with the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

According to a bulletin from the National Hurricane Center released Monday Oct. 20, "a tropical wave located over the eastern Caribbean Sea is producing a concentrated area of showers and thunderstorms. The system is moving westward at 15 to 20 mph toward the central Caribbean Sea and is expected to slow down over the next few days."

The National Hurricane Center on Monday continued to give high chances that a system in the Atlantic will develop into the season’s next tropical depression or storm and threaten the Caribbean.

The National Hurricane Center on Monday said a Caribbean system has a high chance to form into Tropical Storm Melissa this week, with some forecast paths having it turn north and threaten landfall. As of the NHC’s 2 p.

Tropical Storm Melissa is likely to form in the Caribbean in the next 48 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center.

We are tracking one storm system this week that has potential to bring some beneficial rain, but the track is critical on where the heaviest rain will occur.

The timing of a coming cold front would affect whether or not soon-to-form Tropical Storm Melissa affects Florida or not, forecasters said.