The Atlantic Ocean may get its second named tropical storm of 2024 in the next day or two, and its name will be Beryl.

And it looks like it’s headed for the Caribbean.

The National Hurricane Center continued to track Invest 95 in the central Atlantic on Friday, a tropical disturbance that is poised to strengthen and head for the Caribbean.

The hurricane center was also tracking two other disturbances on Friday, one headed for the southern Gulf and the second on the heels of the potential Tropical Storm Beryl.

But it’s what could become Beryl that was getting most of the attention on Friday.

The hurricane center said the disturbance was located about 1,500 miles east-southeast of the Windward Islands on Friday and was getting more organized.

Forecasters said if that trend continues then a tropical depression or tropical storm “will likely form later today or Saturday” as it continues on a path westward at 15 to 20 mph.

The hurricane center expects the storm to be near the Caribbean’s Lesser Antilles by the end of the weekend and urged those in the islands to keep a close eye on the storm.

Some forecast models have shown it strengthening into a hurricane, but it’s too soon to say that will happen for sure. It’s also too soon to say if it could affect the United States.

Models generally agree on it moving into the Caribbean but then diverge, some taking the storm into Central America and others curving its path northward.

A tropical system needs to have a closed, defined center of circulation and sustained winds of at least 39 mph to be classified as a tropical storm and get a name. Beryl is the next name on the 2024 Atlantic storm list.

There has already been Tropical Storm Alberto in 2024, which made landfall on Mexico’s Gulf Coast on June 20 with 45 mph winds.

ELSEWHERE IN THE ATLANTIC

The hurricane center on Friday was also keeping an eye on a tropical disturbance in the western Caribbean that is expected to move into the southern Gulf of Mexico’s Bay of Campeche.

It had a 30 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression in the next two days.

Forecasters were not anticipating any development of the system today and canceled a Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance mission to the area.

The disturbance is expected to move across Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula today and move into the Bay of Campeche by late Saturday or Sunday. When it gets there some development would be possible.

The final system being watched is the newest. As of Friday it was located in the eastern Atlantic several hundred miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands off Africa’s west coast.

It was disorganized in Friday but could slowly get its act together next week as it continues on a path westward. It had a 20 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression in the next seven days.

The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30. A very active season is anticipated, with 17 to 25 named storms and up to seven hurricanes possible, according to NOAA forecasters.

Activity tends to really pick up in August, and Sept. 10 is the climatological peak of the season.