Hurricane Oscar forms off the Bahamas

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Hurricane Oscar has formed off the coast of the Bahamas.

Oscar, which the hurricane center characterized as “tiny,” formed Saturday. Oscar – the 15th named storm of the hurricane season – formed as a tropical storm just east of the Turks and Caicos islands, before quickly becoming a hurricane.

The government of the Bahamas has issued a hurricane warning for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas. The government of Cuba has issued a hurricane watch for the provinces of Guantanamo, Holguin, and Las Tunas. 

Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas can expect heavy rainfall later tonight and tomorrow, the hurricane center said. Rains are expected to spread to eastern Cuba on Sunday. 

The storm’s maximum sustained winds were clocked at 80 mph with higher gusts. Its center was located about 165 miles east-southeast of the southeastern Bahamas and about 470 miles east of Camaguey, Cuba.

Tropical Storm Nadine formed hours earlier  in the western Caribbean and is moving westward toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. It made landfall near Belize City in Belize around 12 p.m. Eastern.

Heavy rain and tropical storm conditions were occurring over parts of Belize and the Yucatan peninsula.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for Belize City and from Belize to Cancun, Mexico, including Cozumel.

The Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1 and finishes Nov. 30, with most activity occurring between mid-August and mid-October. Hurricane activity tends to peak in mid-September, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In Florida, Gulf Coast communities are struggling in the wake of back-to-back hurricanes, as Hurricane Helene rammed into the region less than two weeks before Hurricane Milton arrived.