The tropics are heating up once again. Late Monday afternoon, Tropical Storm Rafael formed over the Caribbean Sea. After starting the day with a ragged, disorganized appearance, Rafael’s structure organized somewhat during the afternoon, and thunderstorm activity consolidated near its center — a sign of a strengthening storm.

With less than a month left in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, conditions are still conducive for tropical development in the Caribbean.

The low-pressure area has a high chance of tropical development over the next few days, The system is working to form in the eastern Caribbean and is bringing a lot of rain to several islands, including Puerto Rico. November is typically a less active month due to it being the end of the hurricane season.

As the Atlantic hurricane season comes to a close, another potential tropical storm is forming in the Caribbean. "A tropical wave over the central Caribbean Sea is producing an area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms,

There is a strong consensus among the various computer forecast models that the tropical disturbance near Jamaica will organize into a tropical depression before the end of the week and pretty quickly develop into Tropical Storm Sara.