The National Hurricane Center is preparing to issue watches for portions of the Gulf Coast.
"Tropical Storm, Hurricane and Storm Surge Watches could be required for a portion of the northern Gulf Coast on Wednesday," the center said Tuesday night.
The watches are ahead of development of a system that moved into the Gulf on Tuesday. It is so close to land that authorities may issue the watches out of an abundance of caution.
"A broad low pressure area located over the Florida Panhandle and the far northeastern Gulf of Mexico is producing widespread but disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Environmental conditions are conducive for development, and a tropical depression is expected to form late Wednesday or Thursday while the low moves slowly westward across the northern Gulf of Mexico."
An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter is scheduled to check out the disturbance Wednesday afternoon.
"In addition, this disturbance has the potential to produce heavy rainfall from the Upper Texas Coast to the Florida Panhandle during the next several days, and interests in those areas should continue to monitor the progress of this system."
