Odds increase slightly for system in Gulf; tropical depression to form soon in Atlantic

Activity is heating back up in the tropics, with National Hurricane Center forecasters watching for potential development of a low-pressure system in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico and another off Africa.
Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday that a tropical depression is likely to form in the next day or so from the tropical wave off Africa as it moves west-northwest.
As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, it was given an 80% chance of developing in the next seven days and 70% in the next two days, up from just 30% on Sunday.
Meanwhile, odds are low — at 30% — for the disturbance in the southwestern Gulf to develop. Though, odds are up slightly from just 10% a day prior.
Forecasters said development, if any, would be slow-going as the system heads northwest. By Wednesday it is forecast to merge with a frontal system over the western Gulf.
Regardless of any tropical development, the system is expected to bring gale-force winds over portions of the northern Gulf of Mexico midweek, followed by potentially heavy rain along the Gulf Coast later in the week, forecasters said Tuesday.
So far this season in the Atlantic, there have been 17 named storms, six of which were hurricanes. Of those, three were major hurricanes, meaning Category 3 or above.
Those were Hurricane Lee, a rare Category 5; Hurricane Franklin, a Category 4; and Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall on Florida’s Big Bend region at Category 3 strength on Aug. 30.
The next named storm will be Sean.
Hurricane season officially runs through Nov. 30.