Miami ? Tropical Storm Debby was expected to stay away from land as it remained out in the open Atlantic, but another system north of Venezuela was on the verge of strengthening into a named storm, forecasters said Thursday.

A hurricane hunter aircraft flying in the Caribbean found a tropical depression with sustained winds that appear to be just below tropical storm strength of 39 mph, said James Franklin, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center.

It was expected to become Tropical Storm Ernesto.

Debby was a threat “to ships crossing the Atlantic but to those of us on the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S., this is not a concern,” said Jamie Rhome, another hurricane specialist.