The tropical system in the western Caribbean may not look like much yet, but don’t be fooled. History has shown the Gulf of Mexico can be a pressure cooker, turning systems like this one from wimpy windstorms to devastating monster storms almost overnight under the right conditions.

Hurricane Helene is forecast to rapidly intensify over the record-warm Gulf of Mexico before slamming into the United States’ Gulf Coast later this week. The storm has not formed yet but is expected to soon, so the National Hurricane Center has dubbed it Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine to warn of its imminent threat.

Record warm waters of the Caribbean are strengthening this system, which will pick up speed over the next day or two.