Forecasters watching potential tropical system

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Even though the hurricane season is officially a week away, forecasters are already keeping an eye on a possible system in the tropics.  An area of clouds and storms northeast of the Bahamas has been designated Invest 91L and could bring rain to the East Coast in a few days.

The National Hurricane Center says the low pressure system has a 60-percent chance of becoming a tropical system within the next two days, but the odds grow to 70 percent five days from now.

The system will not affect the Tampa Bay area.  Current forecasts have it sliding north of Florida.

LINK: Track the system on MyFoxHurricane.com

"With the Memorial Day weekend approaching, all interests along the southeast coast from Georgia through North Carolina should monitor the progress of this low," the National Hurricane Center's report stated.

"While tropical development of Invest 91L is certainly possible, it doesn’t mean we’re going to be looking at a full-blown hurricane," added FOX 13 meteorologist Mike Bennett. "The system won’t have much time in the Western Atlantic before either making landfall or falling apart early next week. Therefore, the primary threat will be localized heavy rain."

Air Force Hurricane Hunters are expected to fly into the system Friday to get better information on it.

If it becomes a tropical storm, the system would be named Bonnie.  'Alex,' the first name of the 2016 list, was used when a rare January system formed out in the Atlantic.