Medium chance of cyclone west of Cape Verde Islands : NHC

(Reuters) - A broad area of low pressure centered about 650 miles (1,046 km) west of the Cape Verde Islands has a 40 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Wednesday. "This system is now moving toward an area more favorable for development, and a tropical depression could form during the next day or two while the low moves toward the west-northwest and northwest at about 15 miles per hour over the open Atlantic," the NHC said. A separate weak area of low pressure near the northwestern Bahamas has a 20 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone over the next couple of days, the Miami-based weather forecaster said. The environment is forecast to become unfavorable for significant development for this system as it moves slowly westward toward southern Florida, the NHC added. (Reporting by Koustav Samanta in Bangalore; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)