Weather systems churning in Atlantic

It's the seventh tropical depression to form in the Atlantic and forecasters said it could strengthen into a tropical storm Friday as it took a path toward the Caribbean. Early Friday, it had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph) and was 930 miles (1,495 kilometers) east of the Windward Islands.

The Atlantic hurricane season got off to an early start and will likely stay busy, producing a few more storms than originally predicted, U.S. forecasters said.

Forecasters said warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures and wind patterns that favor storm formation mean chances are higher for an above-normal season. However, that is tempered with the expected development of an El Nino weather pattern over the Pacific that may suppress storms later in the season.

New tropical wave

National Hurricane Center forecasters are also monitoring a tropical wave over the eastern Atlantic, between the Cape Verde Islands and Africa.

The low pressure area is showing signs of organization and conditions seem conducive for the system to develop into a tropical depression as it moves west to west-northwestward at 15 mph.

The system has a medium chance, 50 percent, of tropical development.