SAN JUAN — As Hurricane Irma continues to roar across the Caribbean on a path toward Florida, a new tropical storm has formed in the Gulf of Mexico.

Tropical Storm Katia formed early Wednesday off the coast of Mexico.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Katia’s maximum sustained winds are near 65 kph with some strengthening forecast over the next two days. But the hurricane centre says Katia is expected to stay offshore through Friday morning.

Credit: nhc.noaa.gov

The storm is centred about 165 kilometres east of Tampico, Mexico, and is moving east-southeast near 4 kph.

Tropical Storm Jose has formed in the open Atlantic far from land.

Jose is located to the east of Hurricane Irma, which is a powerful and dangerous storm heading toward Antigua and perhaps the U.S.

Jose is the 10th tropical storm of the season. It has maximum sustained winds of 65 kph and is about 2,420 kilometres east of the Lesser Antilles.

In August, Travelweek reported that 2017 was primed to be the worst hurricane season in years. The U.S.-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) re-issued its scheduled update for its 2017 hurricane season outlook with a jump in the predicted number of named storms and major hurricanes.

With file from The Associated Press.