A system that brought heavy rain and thunderstorms across Florida earlier this week could still become a tropical depression as it heads toward the Louisiana coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Forecasters said early Thursday, however, that the window for storm development is narrowing as it heads toward inland Louisiana.
As of 8 a.m. Thursday, it was in the Gulf just south of coastal Mississippi.
It has a 30% chance to develop in the next two to seven days, down from 40% on Wednesday. Regardless of development, parts of the north-central Gulf coast could see some flash flooding through Friday.
The next named storm to form would be Tropical Storm Dexter.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had initially forecast an expected 13 to 19 named storms for the year, of which six to 10 would grow into hurricanes. Three to five of those would develop into major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher.
Researchers out of Colorado State University last week updated their forecast saying they expect the season to be slightly less active than what they had predicted earlier this year.
Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
