The 16th tropical depression of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season formed south of Haiti, the US National Hurricane Center said on Saturday. The depression could become Tropical Storm Noel if its sustained winds reach 39 miles per hour (63 km per hour).
The Miami-based hurricane center said the system was about 195 miles (310 km) south-south-east of Port au Prince and was moving west-north-west in the Caribbean with winds near 35 mph (55 kph).
A tropical storm warning was in effect for the south-western peninsula of Haiti and Cuba issued a storm watch for three provinces. It was not immediately clear if the system would threaten the Gulf of Mexico and US oil and natural gas facilities in the northern Gulf.