Tropical Wave Over Caribbean May Upgrade To First Storm of Summer 2009

The tropical wave captured in the above satellite image is currently hovering over the western Caribbean Sea near Cuba, and if things escalate, it may turn into our first tropical storm for the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center pegs the likelihood of the weather pattern reaching tropical storm conditions—winds of at least 39 miles per hours—at up to fifty percent over the next 48 hours. "Conditions are forecast to become a little more favorable once it reaches the southern Gulf of Mexico late Saturday or Sunday," says the report.

This year's Atlantic storms are to be named, in order of appearance: Ana, Bill, Danny, Erika, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Joaquin, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor, and Wanda.