The National Hurricane Center thinks a tropical depression could form in the Gulf in a few days. Forecasters continued to track an area of low pressure that was in the western Atlantic Ocean just east of the Florida peninsula on Tuesday. It is expected to move westward, across the Sunshine State, and into the Gulf by Wednesday.

A tropical storm may form this week, bringing risks of flash flooding and strong thunderstorms from Florida to Louisiana.

A low-pressure system near the east coast of Florida is expected to move into the Gulf by Tuesday. Heavy rains to impact Alabama.

We have declared today and Thursday a First Alert Weather Day for dangerous heat levels. High temperatures are forecast to climb into the mid-90s with a heat index approaching 106°F. Friday is also a First Alert Weather Day for increasing storm chances and the threat for localized flooding.

If this system moves far enough offshore, environmental conditions over the Gulf appear generally favorable for additional development, and a tropical depression could still form over the next couple of days before the system moves fully inland by the end of the week. NHC gives it a 40 percent of development.

In one worst-case scenario, New Orleans could receive up to 10 inches of rain by the end of the weekend. A tropical disturbance and the heavy rain moving along with it will bring a risk of flash flooding to Florida and the central Gulf Coast in the coming days, particularly in southern Louisiana, including New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

There’s growing concern for another significant rain and flooding event this week, this time along the Gulf Coast, from what could become the Atlantic basin’s next tropical system.

“This system may not strengthen into a tropical storm and be designated with an official name ... Current projections call for 4 to 8 inches of rain from Florida through coastal Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, with isolated totals as high as ...