Invest 94E expected to bring heavy rain to Central America, Mexico before becoming Tropical Storm Erick
Some computer forecast models suggest that the deep tropical moisture from this system could drift north and reach parts of extreme South Texas later in the week.
Tropical Storm Erick expected to form, bring heavy rain to Central America, Mexico
Invest 94E is producing thunderstorms across parts of Central America and is expected to develop into Tropical Storm Erick over the next day or two.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is monitoring Invest 94E, which is currently over and offshore of Central America in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
An invest is a naming convention used to identify areas the NHC is investigating for possible development into a tropical depression or tropical storm within the next seven days.
According to the NHC, Invest 94E has a high likelihood of becoming Tropical Storm Erick within the next two days. Regardless of development, forecasters say this system of thunderstorms will bring heavy rain to Central America and southeastern Mexico this week.
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(FOX Weather)
Future Erick could be first named storm of 2025 to make landfall from either Eastern Pacific, Atlantic Basin
If and when Invest 94E becomes Erick, it would be the fifth named storm to form in the Eastern Pacific this season, which is running a month ahead of schedule in terms of named storm formation.
According to the NHC, Invest 94E is expected to form near the coasts of El Salvador, Guatemala and southeastern Mexico, where 3-5 inches of rain is expected to fall, with localized pockets of up to 8 inches of rain.
While this system has more warm water ahead of it than previous named storms that formed in the Eastern Pacific this season, its proximity to land could reduce the storm's intensity.
"The sooner it jumps on land, the less time it has to organize," FOX Weather Meteorologist Marissa Torres said Monday morning.
(FOX Weather)
Future Erick's impacts could be felt as far north as Texas
While future Erick's track is uncertain, the FOX Forecast Center expects that if landfall happens, it will occur in Mexico.
However, some computer forecast models suggest that the deep tropical moisture from this system could drift north and reach parts of extreme South Texas later in the week.
This all comes after Dalila reached tropical storm status Friday afternoon and caused flooding and mudslides along the Mexican coast before it tracked over cooler waters and dissipated Sunday night.
Tropical systems require surface water temperatures of at least 80 degrees to sustain themselves.