A broad area of low pressure drifting west across northern Florida and the Panhandle on Wednesday still has a 40% chance of developing into a tropical depression or storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Designated as Invest 93L, the system could intensify as it enters the Gulf of Mexico. If it reaches tropical storm status, it would be named Dexter — the fourth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season.

Currently, the system’s showers and thunderstorms remain disorganized, mainly to the south and southwest of its center, the hurricane center said.

Forecasters expect the disturbance to continue westward, possibly redeveloping over the northeastern or north-central Gulf by late Wednesday. It could reach the Louisiana coastline as early as Thursday.

“The Hurricane Center loosely places the low over the Panhandle, but it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact center,” wrote ABC Action News chief meteorologist Denis Phillips on Facebook. “The system is very disorganized and running out of time to strengthen as it moves toward Louisiana late Thursday or early Friday. It’s primarily a rain-maker for the northern Gulf, and localized flooding is still a concern regardless of whether it fully develops.”

Forecasters note that if the system moves far enough offshore, warm Gulf waters and other favorable conditions could allow it to organize into a tropical depression in the next couple of days.

“There’s still time for this tropical rainstorm to become a depression or even a named storm, but that window is closing,” said Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather’s lead hurricane expert, on Wednesday morning. “It likely has until midday Thursday to develop.”

Heavy rain is expected to persist across Florida on Wednesday, with the potential for flash flooding in some areas. Coastal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama could also see heavy downpours and localized flooding later in the week.

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