Karen is the 11th named storm of this year's Atlantic hurricane season

Oct 4, 2013 06:45 GMT  ·  By

Yesterday morning, at 9 a.m. EDT, the National Hurricane Center in the US announced that a new tropical storm had formed in the southeastern region of the Gulf of Mexico.

At that time, the storm packed sustained winds of a maximum speed of 60 miles per hour (95 kilometers per hour).

However, specialists warned that, due to the warm water temperature in the Gulf of Mexico, the storm was likely to strengthen, possibly reaching maximum sustained winds of 74 miles per hour (119 kilometers per hour).

The storm might reach hurricane strength by Friday afternoon, and is likely to hit the US Gulf Coast on Saturday, Live Science tells us.

Although tropical storm Karen might turn into a hurricane in the hours to come, specialists are unable to say whether or not it will remain one once it reaches land.

What's more, they explain that the path the storm takes will determine whether or not its strength will increase. Thus, Karen will probably be stronger if it goes east, and grow weaker if it heads west.

According to the same source, the storm is expected to make landfall between New Orleans and Pensacola, Florida.

The National Hurricane Center has instituted a hurricane watch from Grand Isle, Louisiana to Indian Pass, Florida. A tropical storm watch is in effect from Grand Isle to Morgan City, Louisiana.

USA Today reports that, once it reaches land, the storm will bring heavy rainfall to the southeast and mid-Atlantic states. The rainfall is expected to last until Monday.

“Wind gusts in the neighborhood of 60 mph can cause minor property damage, downed trees and power outages,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Michael Doll warned in a statement.

Tropical storm Karen is the 11th named storm of this year's Atlantic hurricane season. Should it turn into a hurricane, it will be the third storm of this season to do so.