Hurricane Oscar forms off the Bahamas

Described as “compact but powerful,” Hurricane Oscar formed off the coast of the Bahamas on Saturday and was churning west across the Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center said.

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

Hurricane conditions were “likely occurring on parts of the Turks and Caicos Islands” and were expected over the southeastern Bahamas later Saturday night, the hurricane center said in an advisory. 

Forecasters said hurricane conditions were also possible in parts of Cuba Sunday night and early Monday. 

Rainfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches were possible in eastern Cuba, with 2 to 4 inches possible in Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas, the hurricane center reported.

The government of the Bahamas 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. 

Oscar was forecast to weaken beginning Sunday night or Monday. 

The storm’s maximum sustained winds were clocked at 85 mph as of 8 p.m. Eastern Time Saturday. Its center was located about 35 miles southwest of Grand Turk, moving west at 10 mph.  

Meanwhile, tropical Storm Nadine formed hours earlier in the western Caribbean before weakening to a tropical depression. It was 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.

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.