FLORIDA, USA — Misinformation about a coming "Hurricane Nadine" has flooded social media in the wake of Hurricanes Milton and Helene.
Numerous posts online falsely claimed the storm was expected to make landfall on Oct. 18, with multiple pictures copying and pasting Hurricane Helene's previous track.
In reality, meteorologists have not yet confirmed the presence of another hurricane or even tropical storm close to the United States, let alone a storm scheduled to make landfall over the next few days.
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The National Hurricane Center (NHC) on Monday increased the possibility of a new pressure system in the Atlantic Ocean potentially turning into a tropical storm. The Center's latest Tropical Weather Outlook said the system, near Africa, is expected to move westward toward warmer waters.
NHC gave a 50% chance of a possible tropical storm formation over the next seven days in Monday's forecast.
"A well-defined area of low pressure located several hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands is producing some disorganized showers and thunderstorms," the NHC's forecast said. "A tropical depression could form as the system begins moving west-northwestward and approaches or moves near the Leeward Islands late this week."
The news comes less than a week after Hurricane Milton tore through the Tampa Bay region and made landfall in Siesta Key as a Category 3 storm. The storm left millions in the area without power and water. In some parts of the state, tornados ripped through buildings. All of this was just a matter of days after Hurricane Helene swept through the area.
If the forming storm speeds up to hurricane-force winds, it will be named "Hurricane Nadine." Meteorologists with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) are responsible for choosing a hurricane's name as part of a long, and somewhat complicated, history.