The Southeast portion of the US is currently under a major storm watch after both Mexico and parts of Cuba have reportedly issued a hurricane warning. The severe warning comes as the weather system that could develop into Hurricane Helene continues to gather strength in the western Caribbean Sea.

Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, including Canún and Tulum, has also issued a warning, reports The Weather Channel. There are reports that western Cuba has issued a tropical storm warning. Forecasters have said that the disturbance could possibly form into a hurricane by Wednesday as it rapidly gains speed and approaches the Gulf Coast.

“It could certainly become a major hurricane, which is Category 3,” Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurrican Center said to the Associated Press. “People in the Florida Panhandle and the west coast of Florida certainly need to pay close attention.”

According to Reinhart, it is far too early to tell where the storm is likely to make landfall. The specialist said that “there’s always some potential” for it to strengthen into a Category 4 storm, but added that it might not be the outcome. Reinhart further stated that by Tuesday, the disturbance is likely to transform into a tropical storm and that the US — specifically Florida — would most likely start seeing tropical storm-like conditions by Wednesday.

Experts say that the disturbance could turn into a major hurricane by the time it reaches the northeast Gulf Coast on Thursday.“It’s a pretty aggressive forecast for intensification over the next few days,” Reinhart said. “People need to remain on high alert.”

Officials at the Weather Channel predicted that by Friday, the storm will “push quickly well inland.” It is predicted that western Cuba and the Cayman Islands will be hit with a whopping eight inches of rain with some isolated areas receiving up to 12 inches. Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is expected to get up 4 inches with isolated areas slated to get up to six.

On Monday, officials on the Cayman Islands started closing schools citing that forecasters warned that the distrubance could bring heavy rain and flooding. The National Hurricane Center said that the Southeast of the US should start seeing heavy rainfall on Wednesday and should prepare for flash and river flooding.

Should Hurricane Helene form, it would be the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that due to the increased temperature of the ocean’s waters, they have forecasted 17 to 25 storms to form with four to seven major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.

According to one scientist at the University of Miami, the heat content of the Gulf of Mexico is at a record high this time for this time of year. “The ocean heat content in the Gulf is *extremely* high, particularly inside the Loop Current, which future-Helene will pass over,” the scientist Brian McNoldy said in a