Danielle, soon-to-be Earl at sea for now

Hurricane Danielle continues to churn over the central Atlantic and still has a chance at becoming the season's first major hurricane this week, AccuWeather reports.


Behind Danielle, a tropical depression is forming south of the Cape Verde Islands and could strengthen into Tropical Storm Earl today.

Both storms are likely to stay out to sea. Danielle, which weakened from a Category 2 hurricane to a Category 1 storm this morning, is forecast to regain strength over the next couple of days as it passes to the north and east of the Lesser Antilles. The storm will likely stay east of Bermuda over the weekend. Earl will likely follow a path similar to Danielle.

Of greater threat to the U.S. would be a tropical system that could potentially form in the Gulf of Mexico later this week. This development could happen along a decaying front set to move out over the Gulf Thursday. If a system does form along this front, it will likely be fairly weak.