Tropical Storm Bret forms in Atlantic
There are two systems that meteorologists are watching closely and one of them has become this hurricane season's second named storm.
Tropical Storm Bret has formed in the Atlantic. The tropical storm is expected to move near or over Trinidad and the eastern coast of Venezuela tonight and early Tuesday with maximum sustained winds near 40 miles per hour.
It is not expected to impact Florida. The wind shear is expected to increase in the days ahead, which could cause this future tropical storm to dissipate or weaken in the Caribbean by mid-week.
Invest 93L, near the Yucatan Channel, could become a named storm once it moves into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Until there is a center of circulation, the computer models will continue to struggle with its future track. The European model continues to track Invest 93L moving toward the southeast Texas. The GFS models focus on the Louisiana coast and away from a Florida Panhandle landfall by Thursday morning as likely Tropical Storm Cindy, though it is not expected to be more than a weak tropical storm.
There will be plenty of deep tropical moisture, so heavy rain is the primary threat.
If the storm continues on its westward track, less heavy rain will be expected through parts of Florida, but all areas from coastal Texas to Florida should stay alert through mid-week. As the westward trend continues, all signs point to a good soaking and possible flooding from southeast Texas to the Florida Panhandle.
The future storm will be a big rainmaker for parts of the northern Gulf coast, though it’s impossible to say where and when the heaviest bands will set up. With that being said, flooding rains appear likely especially in southeast Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle.