A broad area of low pressure could form by early next week over the northwestern Caribbean Sea. Gradual development of this system is possible, and a tropical depression could form as the system moves slowly to the north or northwest and into the southern Gulf of Mexico through the middle part of next week.

A tropical depression could form as an area of low pressure moves toward the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center said.

Hurricane models are showing increasingly high chances that a tropical cyclone could form somewhere in the western Caribbean Sea or southern Gulf of Mexico as early as next week, and forecasters are encouraging Gulf Coast residents to stay vigilant through the remainder of the 2024 season.