HOLT, Fla., Sept. 26, 2025—The National Hurricane Center has issued its first advisory on what could become Tropical Storm Imelda.

For now, Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine is slowly moving northwest just north of Cuba and south of the Bahamas.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph with higher gusts.

Gradual strengthening is forecast and the system is expected to become a tropical depression tomorrow, a tropical storm tomorrow night or early Sunday morning and a hurricane within the next 72 hours.

The center of the system is expected to track across the central and northwestern Bahamas this weekend and approach the southeast U.S. coast early next week, according to the NHC.

The system is expected to be at or near hurricane intensity when it approaches the southeast U.S. coast early next week, where there is a risk of storm surge and wind impacts.

According to the NHC, there are two possible scenarios for the future Imelda:

• It could move inland over the southeastern United States early next week.
• It could stall near the southeast coast or drift eastward.

There is an increasing threat of heavy rainfall early next week from coastal Georgia through the Carolinas and into the southern Mid-Atlantic states—especially if the system stalls—which could cause flash, urban and river flooding, according to the forecast.

National Hurricane Center forecast