NHC says 70 percent chance of tropical cyclone off Lesser Antilles

(Reuters) - A broad area of low pressure located about 1,200 miles east of the Lesser Antilles has a 70 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Friday. A tropical depression is likely to form this weekend or early next week while the disturbance moves toward the west-northwest and then toward the northwest over the central Atlantic during the next several days, the Miami-based weather forecaster said. (Reporting by Nithin Prasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)