The National Hurricane Center urged Northern and Northeastern Gulf Coast residents to "closely monitor the progress" of a tropical system swirling in the Western Caribbean.
The system is off the coast of Honduras and Nicaragua and is expected to drift north and gain strength as it inches toward the U.S.
The National Hurricane Center says the currently unnamed system has a 80% of developing into a tropical storm by Wednesday morning, and a 90% chance of developing into a storm by Saturday.
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Once it moves into the Gulf of Mexico, it will encounter extremely warm sea surface temperatures, which could fuel rapid development. Several forecast models indicate a possible hurricane could threaten the Florida Gulf Coast by the end of the week.
"Environmental conditions appear favorable for development of this system, and a tropical depression or storm is likely to form over the next couple of days as the system moves north across the NW Caribbean Sea and into the SE Gulf of Mexico, where further development may occur. There is a high chance of tropical formation over the next 48 hours," wrote Stephen Konarik, senior marine meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center.
So far in 2024, the Atlantic hurricane season has produced seven named tropical system, including four hurricanes and one major hurricane. Just two weeks ago, Hurricane Francine came ashore in Louisiana as a Category 2 system.
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The next system to form in the Atlantic would given the name Helene.
