A hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center, on July 3, 2014 in Miami, Florida

A tropical depression that could develop into the first hurricane of the season has formed in the Atlantic and is headed toward the Caribbean, US forecasters warned Tuesday.

Tropical Depression Four—located some 1,665 miles (2,675 kilometers) east of the Windward Islands at 1500 GMT—was expected to strengthen into a dubbed Danny within hours, the National Hurricane Center said.

According to projections by the Miami-based forecasters, the system could develop further and become a hurricane by Friday.

Currently no coastal watches or warnings are in effect.

Experts said earlier this month that there was a 90 percent chance the 2015 in the Atlantic, which runs from June through November, will be less active than normal.

© 2015 AFP