Next tropical depression, or storm, likely to form soon, hurricane center says

ORLANDO, Fla. — The disturbance emerging in the Gulf of Mexico is looking more organized Tuesday afternoon and will likely become a tropical depression or storm in the next day or so, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Radar imagery shows an area of low pressure over the Bay of Campeche is getting better organized and is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms, according to the 2 p.m. EDT update.

Development is possible if the disturbance moves Tuesday and Wednesday west-northwestward to northwestward over the far southwestern Gulf of Mexico, where it could become a tropical depression over the next day or so.

The system has an 80% chance of development in the next two to five days. However, residual moisture and remnants from Tropical Storm Julia could become absorbed by the new threat, fueling its development further. The Bay of Campeche has sea-surface temperatures of 82 and 83 degrees — ideal for tropical development, according to Spectrum News 13′s SST map.

An Air Force Reserve reconnaissance aircraft is en route to investigate the system.

If it does develop into a tropical storm, it would receive the name Karl.

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