By EVAN ALDO

The United States may still not be off the hook for hurricanes this season.

A tropical cyclone in the northwestern Caribbean Sea has recently been upgraded to a named tropical storm called Nate.  Meteorologists believe the system is likely to become a hurricane in the next three days.  They also predict that it may hit the northern Gulf Coast on Sunday morning.

“Nate is expected to strengthen as it moves over warmer waters on its way to the U.S. coast,” says the National Hurricane Center.  “But at this point, it is too early to specify the timing, location, or magnitude of these impacts.

Nate is currently bringing heavy rainfall to Nicaragua as it is heading towards Cancun. It has triggered flood warnings in these areas, as well as a hurricane watch in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula.

Right now the tropical storm has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.  It is expected to take a northwestward path later today and start to move at a faster speed, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The sustained winds are expected to reach 75 mph by Sunday.  Although this is much less than recent hurricanes such as Irma or Maria, forecasters are still warning people to watch out for flash floods and mudslides.  Rick Scott, the governor of Florida, has already addressed the state to discuss preparation for the storm.

After the devastations from hurricanes Irma and Maria, another hurricane clearly is something the United States can do without at this time.

Congress has been debating passing a 15 billion dollar hurricane recovery bill.  However, if Nate ends up being as catastrophic as Sandy was in 2012, American taxpayers may have a lot more to worry about.