Medium chance of cyclone near Cape Verde Islands in mid week: NHC

(Reuters) - A low-pressure area located several hundred miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands has a medium or 60 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone over the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday. A tropical depression will likely form by the middle of the week while the system moves westward or west-northwestward near 15 miles per hour (24 km per hour), the Miami-based weather forecaster said. (Reporting by Anupam Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)