While Hurricane Rafael grew back into a major hurricane as it headed west into the Gulf of Mexico and no threat to land for now, the National Hurricane Center kept track of another system with low odds to develop into the season's next tropical depression or storm.
As of the NHC's 7 a.m. tropical outlook, the trough of low pressure with disorganized showers and thunderstorms extended from the central Caribbean Sea northeast across Hispaniola and into the southwestern Atlantic.
"Some gradual development of this system is possible during the next couple of days while it moves westward near the Greater Antilles," forecasters said. "Regardless of development, locally heavy rains are possible across the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the southeastern Bahamas through Saturday."
The NHC gave it a 20% chance of development in the next two to seven days.
The same trough is forecast to head northwest across the Florida Straits on Monday, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
"Moisture will increase from the south with this feature on Monday resulting in scattered showers and isolated storms focused across our southern counties, south of Orlando and Cape Canaveral," said NWS lead meteorologist Scott Kelly. "A weak cool front is forecast to push across the area Tuesday and absorb this disturbance."
Meanwhile, what is still Hurricane Rafael continued to head west into the central Gulf of Mexico as a major Category 3 hurricane.
As of the NHC's 4 a.m. advisory, the center of Rafael was located about 245 miles north-northeast of Progresso, Mexico and 585 miles east of the mouth of the Rio Grande River moving west at 9 mph.
Its maximum sustained winds had grown to 120 mph returning it to Category 3 strength, which it had been before making landfall on Wednesday in Cuba. Hurricane-force winds extend out 30 miles and tropical-storm-force winds extend out 115 miles.
"On the forecast track, Rafael is expected to move over the central Gulf of Mexico for the next few days," forecasters said. "Some fluctuations in intensity are possible today. By tonight, a steady weakening trend is forecast and should continue through the weekend."
The swells from the hurricane have been spreading across most of the Gulf of Mexico and should continue to be a hazard generating life-threatening surf and rip current conditions from Florida to Texas and into Mexico.
Rafael became the 17th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1-Nov. 30.
It was the 11th hurricane and fifth major hurricane of the above average season.