Tropical Depression 19 forms east of South Florida; tropical storm watch issued

ORLANDO, Fla. — En español: La depresión tropical 19 se forma al este del sur de Florida; alerta de tormenta tropical emitida

The tropics continue to be very active and although Central Florida is not expecting a direct impact from any system this weekend, there are some indirect impacts that could affect some of your plans this weekend.

Tropical Depression 19 nearing South Florida

Tropical Depression 19 is nearing south/southeast Florida and will pass by and into the Gulf on Saturday.  Squally rain bands are likely both days this weekend, we’ll also be watching for an isolated tornado threat.  Storm likely to gain strength to “Sally” or “Teddy” in the Gulf, and could gain hurricane strength as it nears coastal Louisiana early next week.  Currently the forecast has it as a strong tropical storm at landfall.

Local Impacts:  Heavy rain threat, flood watch west.  Periods of heavy rain, few brief tornadoes possible.   Boating hazards and higher surf coming from distant “Paulette” is something we’ll also be monitoring.

Tropical Depression 19 forms just east of South Florida

The large area of disorganized showers and storms over the Bahamas will likely develop soon. The National Hurricane Center has started advisories on this system on Friday at 5 p.m. Tropical Depression 19 will track over South Florida and will likely get a name over the weekend as it enters the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

This system will bring heavy rainfall across the Keys and South Florida and we can expect instability from it to also reach Central Florida. This is why we will remain with higher than normal rain chances through much of the weekend. The constant on-shore flow will keep the storms moving fast from the east all weekend long.

By early next week, it will continue to move very slowly to the west-northwest tracking toward the southern Gulf states.

See local weather for this weekend

Paulette & Rene

Tropical Storm Paulette and Tropical Storm Rene are moving very slowly over the central Atlantic. Both systems are forecast to become hurricanes, but Rene will be a hurricane for a very short period this weekend and is still no threat to land.

Paulette is also forecast to become a hurricane by Sunday, but it is en route to Bermuda. Heavy rain, winds, and storm surge are likely for the island starting Monday and through late Tuesday. Paulette will continue as a hurricane through the latter part of next week.

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Collateral impacts to U.S east coast

Although Paulette will stay far away, it can still generate lots of wave action for the east coast of the U.S. Swells forecast to spread across the southwestern Atlantic through the weekend increasing rip current threat. Please continue to monitor this closely, especially if you have plans to head to the beach this weekend. Always swim near a lifeguard.

Watch: 9 facts about rip currents

Eastern Atlantic tropical waves

Farther east, over the Eastern Atlantic, there are two tropical waves coming out of Africa.

The first one is located just south of the Cabo Verde Islands. It has a high chance of becoming a tropical system, either depression or tropical storm this weekend. This system is forecast to head straight westward.

We will monitor this closely as it is the tropical wave that has the best chance of tracking toward the Caribbean next week. We have plenty of time to monitor this area.

Another wave is about to exit Africa and once it moves over water, the tropical wave has a medium chance of becoming a tropical system over the Cabo Verde Islands. The forecast shows this system to follow Rene’s footsteps and stay over the Central Atlantic.

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Another area we are watching is a weak low-pressure system located on the eastern Gulf of Mexico. This system will continue to move slowly west-southwest over the weekend. As it moves parallel, but well offshore of the Texas coastline, this disturbance may become better organized, although at the moment it has a very low chance of becoming a tropical system in 5 days.

We will continue to monitor the evolution of everything that happens in the tropics and bring you the latest on Eyewitness News, on our Eye on the Tropics section, and on our free WFTV Weather App.

Follow our Severe Weather team on Twitter for live updates:

• Chief meteorologist Tom Terry
• Brian Shields
• Irene Sans
• Kassandra Crimi
• George Waldenberger
• Rusty McCranie

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