MIAMI -

As Ernesto drenched parts of southern Mexico, another tropical system looms in the Atlantic Ocean.

In the National Hurricane Centers' 5 a.m. advisory on Friday, Tropical Depression #7 was about 930 miles east of the Windward Islands with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph with higher gusts. It was moving west at 20 mph.

The tropical depression was expected to continue moving in the same direction over the next 48 hours. Some strengthening was forecast, and the system could become a tropical storm late Friday.

TD 7

Meantime, NOAA updated its 2012 hurricane season forecast, raising it to 12-17 named storms, 5-8 hurricanes and 2-3 major hurricanes.