A hurricane could be in Caribbean next week. Here's the outlook

Confidence is increasing that a tropical system — possibly even a hurricane — could form near the Caribbean islands next week and track west in the general direction of Florida or elsewhere on the U.S. coast.

As of Thursday morning, it’s just a rainstorm in the east-central Atlantic moving slowly to the west through dry air. But the National Hurricane Center gives it a high chance of development in the next seven days as it moves closer to the Caribbean.

By Wednesday or Thursday, it could be Tropical Storm or Hurricane Gabrielle near the northeast Caribbean, said Alex DaSilva, lead hurricane expert for AccuWeather.

From there, the forecast is far less clear: Will Gabrielle track west toward the U.S. or make a turn to the north as Hurricane Erin did in late August?

“That’s the million