By james art 
The National Hurricane Center is tracking a system in the Gulf of Mexico that could become a tropical storm over the next few days.
According to an early Monday morning warning from the Hurricane Center, the system, designated Invest 97L, is producing showers and thunderstorms that are “beginning to show signs of organization as a broad area of low pressure” over the northwestern Caribbean Sea. If it forms, the storm will be named Helena.
The NHC said environmental conditions appear favorable for further development of the system and “a tropical depression or storm is likely to form over the next several days” as the system moves northward across the northwestern Caribbean Sea and into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico.
“Regardless of development, this system is expected to bring heavy rains over parts of Central America over the next several days,” the NHC said in the advisory, while noting that interests in the northwestern Caribbean, Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and western Cuba should keep an eye on closely monitor the progress of this system.
The system is forecast to move north across the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and interests along the northeastern Gulf Coast should also keep a close eye on the system, according to the NHC.
The weather you need to know: The Gulf Coast faces a hurricane threat, with storms forecast across the East
A new storm is brewing in the eastern Atlantic
The NHC also said Monday it was monitoring a tropical wave located between West Africa and the Cape Verde Islands that was producing “disorganized rain and thunderstorm activity.”
Environmental conditions appear favorable for gradual development of this system, according to the hurricane center, and a tropical depression is likely to form during the middle to later part of this week as the system moves west-northwest through the eastern and central tropical Atlantic.
The NHC gives the system a 70 percent chance of formation over the next seven days.
Atlantic and Gulf Storm Tracking
Spaghetti Models Invest 97L
Illustrations include a range of forecasting tools and models, and not all are created equal. The Hurricane Center uses only the top four or five top-performing models to make its forecasts.
https://data.tallahassee.com/storm/nine/al092024/#spaghetti Embed:
Tropical Storm John triggers warnings for parts of southern Mexico
Tropical Storm John was about 130 miles south of Punta Maldonado with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph early Monday morning, according to an advisory from the NHC, prompting the Mexican government to issue a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning for the coast of Mexico from Punta Maldonado to Bahias de Huatulco.
John is moving north-northeast near 3 mph, the NHC said, and is expected to move slowly to the north-northeast or northeast for the next few days.
The system is forecast to approach the southern coast of Mexico over the next day or two and move inland on Tuesday or Wednesday. The NHC also said John is forecast to strengthen over the next day or two and could become a hurricane before making landfall.
The NHC is forecasting 6 to 12 inches of rain with isolated totals around 15 inches in coastal areas of Chiapas. Additionally, areas along and near the Oaxaca coast to southeastern Guerrero can expect between 10 and 20 inches of rain with isolated totals near 30 inches through Thursday.
“This heavy rainfall is likely to cause significant and possibly catastrophic, life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and southeastern Guerrero, especially in areas near the coast,” the NHC said Monday.
Tropical Storm John Tracker
Tropical Storm John Spaghetti Patterns
Gabe Hawari is a national news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Storm tracking: Tropical Storm Helene may form in Gulf of Mexico