Tropical Storm Earl forms; more storms brewing?

Tropical Storm Earl, above, has formed in the open Atlantic Ocean, but the system is far from land.

Earl has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and is expected to become a hurricane by Friday.

Also in the open Atlantic, Hurricane Danielle (see forecast track below) is moving northwest with winds of about 85 mph. The forecast track has Danielle heading toward Bermuda over the next several days.

Conditions have become favorable for a few more tropical systems to form in the Atlantic Basin over the next 10 days, according to AccuWeather.com.

A new disturbance is emerging off the coast of Africa, the origin of many tropical storms and hurricanes during late August through September. Plus, there are three other areas meteorologists are watching for possible development in the upcoming days.

One area lies over the western Gulf of Mexico. A brew of scattered showers and thunderstorms could become better organized over the next few days. Steering currents could take this system westward into Texas or northern Mexico, perhaps reaching depression status.

Depression or not, this feature could deliver flooding downpours to the region as it drifts inland.

Another area worth mentioning is the tail end of an old front off the southern Atlantic Seaboard. While this system is likely to get kicked out and sheared this weekend, it too could organize a low-level circulation beforehand.

Finally, some computer models are cooking up a disturbance near the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, as a tropical wave invades from the east.

-- The Associated Press and AccuWeather.com