Potential Tropical Cyclone 9 is expected to strengthen into Hurricane Helene Wednesday and could be a Category 3 hurricane by landfall Thursday.

There is a 70 percent chance of the system becoming a tropical storm within the next 48 hours, the National Hurricane Center said.

The National Hurricane Center said Monday it is tracking a system in the Gulf of Mexico that could become Tropical Storm Helene in the coming days.

Tropical Storm John struck Mexico’s southern Pacific coast with life-threatening flood potential after growing into a major hurricane in a matter of hours. It came ashore near the town of Punta Maldonado late Monday night as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (190 kph).

A weather system that could soon develop into a tropical storm and then a hurricane may impact South Carolina in the coming days. Here’s what to know.

The Gulf of Mexico could have a tropical storm — or hurricane — to deal with later this week. And there are some hints at where it could go. The National Hurricane Center on Monday was watching a tropical disturbance in the northwestern Caribbean that is expected to organize into a tropical depression or tropical storm in the next couple of days.