ORLANDO, Fla. _ With a 90% chance of development, a broad low-pressure system in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico is expected to develop into a tropical depression late Wednesday or Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday morning. In the likelihood it would become a named storm, it would be called Tropical Storm Barry.
The system is about 100 miles south-southwest of Apalachicola and is expected to move westward across the northern Gulf toward Louisiana and Texas, the hurricane center said in its 8 a.m. update.
Tropical storm, hurricane and storm-surge watches could be issued Wednesday along the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to parts of the Texas coast, the hurricane center said. Meteorologists advised it is too early to pinpoint the exact magnitude and location of those impacts.
"Regardless of the eventual track and intensity of the system, heavy rainfall is expected from the Florida Panhandle to the upper Texas coast, extending inland across portions of the Lower Mississippi Valley, much of Louisiana and eastern Texas," meteorologists said.
The National Weather Service predicts the disturbance, as it develops, will have little effect over Central Florida.
"We'll be experiencing the same weather pattern we've seen over the last several days, with moisture from the southwest flow that's fueled quite a bit of the recent thunderstorm activity," NWS meteorologist Tony Cristaldi said. "We'll continue to have 60% rain chances in the afternoon for the next two days."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is monitoring developments.
"As the weather moves across our state today & tomorrow, heavy rain is possible along the FL Gulf Coast, which could result in flooding," DeSantis posted Tuesday on his official Twitter account. "If you encounter flooded roads, put your safety first & find an alternate route."
Barry would be the second named storm of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, following Subtropical Storm Andrea.
Central Florida's weather forecast for Wednesday calls for a high temperature of about 91 degrees and a 50% chance of rain, mainly after 3 p.m., according to Fox affiliate WOFL-Ch. 35 meteorologist Kristin Giannas. That 50% chance of rain is expected to remain in the forecast through Saturday, she said.
A U.S. Air Force Reserve Unit reconnaissance aircraft will be deployed this afternoon to investigate the disturbance, the hurricane center said.
