ORLANDO, Fla. – An area of low pressure in the Caribbean is expected to develop into a tropical depression and move into the Gulf of Mexico this week.
The area, designated on Sunday as Invest 97L, is continuing to organize in the Caribbean, according to the National Hurricane Center. A tropical depression or tropical storm is expected to form in the next couple of days as the system moves across the northwestern Caribbean into the Gulf of Mexico.
Now that this tropical disturbance has been designated Invest 97L, we are starting to get a better picture of what this system will do over the next few days. With the designation as an invest, spaghetti models are now going to be generated.
[RELATED: What’s an invest? Here’s what to know]
The latest computer models pick up a broad low in the Western Caribbean early in the week, threading the Yucatan Channel by Tuesday.
This current track takes the system over very warm waters called the loop current. Ocean temperatures at this point of the year hover between 86-88 degrees Fahrenheit.
Models start to differ a bit by Wednesday but still show an overall landfall along the west coast of Florida by Thursday. Exact path and intensity remains a bit uncertain until we have a official defined system to track.
One big factor at play will be the timing and position of an upper low by the end of the week. This weather feature could play an important role on how much of a easterly track Invest 97L will take by the end of the week.
There is a 70% chance of development in the next 48 hours and a 90% chance of development in the next seven days. Hurricane Hunters are scheduled to investigate this system Monday afternoon.
Once it enters the Gulf of Mexico, it is expected to develop even more as the system moves across the Gulf of Mexico.
In the Atlantic, a tropical wave between western Africa and the Cabo Verde Islands is expected to develop this week.
Environmental conditions are favorable for development and the tropical wave could become a tropical depression by mid-week or the end of the week as it moves west-northwest across the Atlantic.
It has a 70% chance of development in the next seven days.
The next name on the list is Helene.
Hurricane season runs through November.
Meteorologist Jonathan Kegges provides the latest information about everything happening in the tropics.
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