Tropical depression, storm likely to form in Gulf of Mexico | News

HATTIESBURG, MS (WDAM)- All eyes continue to be on the Gulf of Mexico as an area of disturbed weather tries to get more organized.

As of Friday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center says the area has a 70 percent chance of developing in the next 48 hours. Despite this, the hurricane hunters have canceled their plans to fly into the system Friday due to its disorganized nature. They are rescheduled to fly in Saturday afternoon.

At this time, this system looks like it will be slow to develop. Conditions across the Gulf of Mexico are not very conducive for rapid strengthening, but we will likely see this system form into a Tropical Depression sometime this weekend. From here, most of the reliable computer models keep what may become Debby, at Tropical Storm strength.

The forecast track is the big question mark when it comes to this system. Models are generally split into two camps, with most saying an eventual landfall along the west coast of Florida, and a few still suggesting a landfall along the Texas coast. As is often the case with developing tropical cyclones, models have a tough time pinpointing where they may eventually move. It's for this reason that we need to continue to watch this system through the weekend, where we should begin to have a better idea of its eventual track. 

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