Gulf of Mexico's Tropical Storm Alert: Preparation is Key

The Gulf of Mexico is Bracing for a Potential Tropical Storm or Hurricane The Gulf of Mexico is preparing for a potential tropical storm or hurricane, with millions of people living along the coast advised to prepare for the worst. A low-pressure system, dubbed Invest 97L, is developing in the Caribbean and is expected to make landfall somewhere between Louisiana and Florida by Thursday or Thursday night. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is warning that a tropical depression or tropical storm could form in the western Caribbean by Tuesday, with a high chance of development over the next seven days. Environmental conditions are favorable for the system to develop, with a broad area of low pressure currently producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and portions of Central America. The system is expected to dump heavy rain over portions of Central America during the next several days, with areas of the northwestern Caribbean, Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, and western Cuba advised to closely monitor its progress.