The National Hurricane Center continues to watch two areas of interest in the tropics, one that looks to bring heavy rain to parts of Florida on Friday.
"A broad area of low pressure located over the northeastern portion of the Yucatan Peninsula continues to produce a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and Yucatan Peninsula," NHC senior hurricane specialist Dr. Jack Beven said in a tropical weather outlook issued Thursday. "Despite strong upper-level winds, this system is likely to become a tropical depression or tropical storm while it moves slowly northeastward over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and southeastern Gulf of Mexico during the next day or two. Interests in western Cuba, the Florida Keys, and the Florida Peninsula should monitor the progress of this system, and tropical storm watches or warnings could be required for some of these areas later today."
"Regardless of development, areas of heavy rainfall are likely across portions of the Yucatan Peninsula and western Cuba during the next day or so, spreading across southern and central Florida and the Florida Keys Friday and Friday night, and the northwestern Bahamas on Saturday. These heavy rains could cause scattered to numerous flash floods across South Florida and the Florida Keys," Beven continued.
Rainfall totals through Tuesday. (NOAA/WPC)
The NHC is also watching an area about 200 miles east-northeast of the northwestern Bahamas, where development is now not expected due to strong upper-level winds in the area.
Neither system is expected to be a threat to Louisiana.