Florida faces flood threat as Invest 97L shifts west

Keeping an eye on the tropical wave that could enter the Gulf this weekend

MIAMI — A large tropical wave was tagged by the National Hurricane Center as Invest 97-L this morning. This well-defined wave is producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms over Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the southeastern Bahamas, and the adjacent waters of the southwestern Atlantic and northeastern Caribbean Sea. Development of this system should be slow to occur during the next day or so while it moves west-northwestward over portions of the Greater Antilles.

However, environmental conditions are forecast to be more conducive for development after the wave passes the Greater Antilles, and a tropical depression is likely to form this weekend or early next week over the eastern Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Peninsula.