A vigorous tropical weather system forming in the eastern Caribbean has a high chance of turning into a tropical depression or more serious tropical storm over the next two days, according to the National Hurricane Center.
If the system becomes a tropical depression, it would be the third of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. If it then reaches sustained winds of 39 mph, it would be named Tropical Storm Bonnie. Forecasters said the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, eastern Cuba, the southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos can expect heavy rainfall and gusty winds during the next couple of days. The hurricane center warns that heavy rain could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in mountainous areas.
The system could affect the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. coastal areas later in the week.
Bad weather could further disrupt efforts to clean up oil in the Gulf of Mexico from BP's crippled well, already affected in June by Hurricane Alex. The well is sealed for now with a containment cap as U.S. and BP officials contemplate a permanent solution, but a new storm could damage oil booms, force skimming boats to give up collecting oil from the surface and head to shore, and push cleanup crews on beaches to head for shelter.
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