Will Franklin become a major hurricane, and where will it go? Jim Cantore is on alert

All eyes are on the tropics this week as the National Hurricane Center in Miami tracks five disturbances, three of them named storms.

Tropical Storm Harold is forecast to make landfall over South Texas on Tuesday, with cities including Corpus Christi and Brownsville under a tropical storm warning.

The system will bring coastal flooding and heavy rains through Wednesday evening, the NHC said.

Gert, which was downgraded to a tropical depression, is expected to die out in the Atlantic and not affect land.

Tropical Storm Franklin forecast

The disturbance that many weather forecasters are watching, however, is Tropical Storm Franklin.

With maximum winds of 50 mph at 7 a.m. CST Tuesday, Franklin is expected to menace Puerto Rico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic this week.

“Life-threatening” flash flooding is expected across Hispaniola through Wednesday night, the NHC said.

Franklin is forecast to become a hurricane over the weekend once the storm is back over the Atlantic, and it has Weather Channel Meteorologist Jim Cantore on alert.

Jim Cantore on Franklin’s strength

“Franklin will have to be watched over Hispaniola for dangerous flooding then potential rapid development with at least a motion back toward the USA next week as a hurricane, maybe major,” Cantore tweeted early Tuesday morning.

It’s too early to predict Franklin’s track beyond the weekend, how much the storm will intensify, if there will be a possibility for a U.S. landfall or it will affect eastern states including North Carolina, South Carolina or Georgia.

Check hurricanes.gov for the latest updates on Franklin, Harold and other systems in the Atlantic Basin.