People along the Florida Panhandle, Big Bend region and much of the eastern Gulf coast need to complete preparations for hurricane impacts by Wednesday night before hazardous conditions arrive on Thursday.

An evolving storm in the western Caribbean is expected to intensify into a hurricane before moving north and making landfall along the United States Gulf Coast on Thursday, AccuWeather expert meteorologists are forecasting.

Residents along much of the Gulf Coast need to complete preparations for hurricane impacts by Wednesday night before hazardous conditions arrive on Thursday, AccuWeather hurricane experts advised.

“Everyone along the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend region needs to be prepared for hurricane impacts,” said AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva, adding that the setup has the potential to become the strongest hurricane landfall in the U.S. so far this season.

“The region we are closely watching is more commonly a threat to tropical development in the late-spring or mid- to late-autumn seasons,” said DaSilva. “There’s even evidence of the Central America gyre now, which is also more common in the spring and later in the autumn.”

The gyre is a circulation of air that is not only rotating, but also rising. When air rises in the atmosphere, it creates low pressure and moisture, which in turn generates clouds, showers and thunderstorms. In the right environment, and with continued rotation and organization, a tropical system can form, which is what AccuWeather is expecting this week.

Continue reading at AccuWeather

For more on hurricane season and the utility industry, see how Duke Energy is strengthening the grid,  ask yourself if you are making these heat related illness mistakes, and make sure you are stocked up on the must haves for storm season.