Tropical depression unlikely to form in Gulf of Mexico, according to hurricane forecasters

The low pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico beyond the southeastern shore of Louisiana isn’t likely to grow into a tropical depression, according to forecasters.

“Only slight development of this system is possible” as it drifts west-southwest at 5 to 10 mph toward Texas Saturday afternoon and Saturday night, according to the National Hurricane Center.

As of 8 a.m. Saturday, the system has a 10 percent chance of developing in the next 48 hours and a 10 percent chance of developing in the next five days. The NHC said a reconnaissance aircraft flight into the system previously scheduled for Saturday has been canceled.

The Texas coast should prepare for heavy rain this weekend regardless of whether the system becomes a depression, forecasters said.

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The next storm to form would be named Danielle.

There have been three named storms this season and forecasters said earlier this week activity could ramp up soon.

“The heart of the season is really usually that Aug. 15, Aug. 20 date to maybe the end of, or at least late October,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said. “So you really have the two months in there where you pick up the majority of your storms.

“Even though we’ve only had three [named storms in 2022], we are sort of on pace. How this season turns out is going to be determined by how many storms we get during the heart of the season.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last week updated predictions for activity this hurricane season.

Experts are now predicting 14 to 20 named storms and six to 10 hurricanes, with three to five of them a Category 3 or higher.

Hurricane season ends Nov. 30.