NHC says 30 percent chance of cyclone northeast of the Leeward Islands

(Reuters) - A low-pressure system located several hundred miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands has a 30 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Thursday.

Environmental conditions could become more favorable for development of this system as a tropical or subtropical cyclone during the next few days while it moves northwestward or north-northwestward at about 10 miles per hour (16 km/hour), the Miami-based weather forecaster said.

(Reporting by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri in Bangalore Editing by W Simon)