A major hurricane is expected to form this week and threaten the Gulf Coast, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Monday. The NHC said in a forecast discussion Monday that a “disturbance” named Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine “is expected to intensify into a major hurricane before it approaches the northeastern Gulf Coast on Thursday.

The Gulf Coast is bracing for the potential of a significant hurricane landfall later this week, as what will likely become a tropical storm — and then potentially Hurricane Helene — is organizing in the Caribbean Sea.