ORLANDO, Fla. — The National Hurricane Center on Thursday kept its eyes on two Caribbean-bound tropical waves that could develop into the season’s next tropical depression or storm while the short-live Tropical Storm Cristobal began to fall apart in the distant Atlantic.

As of 5 a.m., the center of what had diminished to Tropical Depression Cristobal less than 24 hours since forming was located 610 miles west of the Azores with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph heading northeast at 16 mph.

The system is no threat to land and expected to dissipate later Thursday.

Still in the developing stages are a pair of tropical waves in the central and eastern tropical Atlantic, both now forecast to form into at least a tropical depression.

As of the NHC’s 8 a.m. tropical outlook, the closer of the two, officially Invest 92, was located about 1,000 miles east of the Caribbean’s Lesser Antilles with organized showers and thunderstorms.

“This system will likely become a short-lived tropical depression during the next day or two as it moves westward across the tropical Atlantic,” forecasters said. “However, by late Friday, the system is expected to move into a region of strong upper-level winds and dry air, which should end its opportunity to develop.”

The NHC noted that gusty winds and heavy rain were possible either way Friday night and Saturday in the Caribbean.

The NHC gave it an 80% chance to develop in the next two to seven days.

Right behind it, and now Invest 94, is a tropical wave located a few hundred miles south-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands with disorganized showers and thunderstorms.

“Environmental conditions are forecast to be generally conducive for gradual development, and a tropical depression could form late this week or this weekend while the wave moves westward or west-northwestward across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic,” forecasters said.

The NHC gave it a 30% chance to develop in the next two days and 50% in the next seven.

If either system were to grow into a named system, they could become Tropical Storm Dolly.

So far the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1 and runs through Nov. 30, has been slow with only three named systems – tropical storms Arthur and Bertha and now Cristobal.

After Dolly, the next name on the list is Edouard.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration earier this month updated its seasonal forecast stating it expects between seven and 13 named storms this year. Of those, two to six would become hurricanes. It also predicted that there might not be any major hurricanes this year, or at most two.

Already 2026 was forecast to have lower-than-average storm generation, and that has been reduced even further with the latest forecasts from the NOAA and other weather groups.

An average year would see 14 named storms and seven hurricanes, with three of those growing to Category 3 strength or higher.

The height of hurricane season is just beginning, though, running between mid-August and mid-October.

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