A disturbance in the Atlantic is likely to become a tropical depression or Tropical Storm Melissa this week as it heads into the Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center said.

Santo Domingo.- Meteorological consultant Jean Suriel reported that a tropical disturbance over the Caribbean Sea could develop into a tropical depression or storm within the next 24 to 48 hours, moving slowly westward south of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

"With regards to this tropical wave, we think this will develop into a named storm in the next few days," one meteorologist said.

Invest 98-L is producing winds of 30 to 40 mph. Environmental conditions appear marginally conducive for slow development over the next couple of days as the system moves westward at 20 to 25 mph. A tropical depression is expected to form by the middle of the week.

The Leeward Islands, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, should monitor the progress of a weather system moving across the Atlantic, as the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has given the disturbance — designated Invest 95L — an 80 percent chance of development within 48 hours and a 90 percent chance within seven days.

Tropical Storm Humberto's emergence in the central Atlantic marked an intensification of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, prompting heightened vigilance across the region.