National Hurricane Center tracking 3 tropical waves
Digest more
The system, identified as Invest 93L, originally developed east of Florida before traversing the entire state and ending up over Louisiana and Mississippi.
Likening the system to a merry-go-round, Pilié said weather forecasting models Thursday showed the storm doing a full loop around the southeast U.S. before circling back to the Gulf Coast, bringing increased rain chances and the potential for tropical development late next week.
Invest 93L is currently churning in the Gulf and is expected to pick up a bit of steam before it makes landfall in Louisiana early Thursday afternoon.
New Orleans is preparing for heavy rainfall this week as a tropical disturbance moves through the Gulf of Mexico toward the Louisiana coast.
The National Hurricane Center once again dropped the likelihood of formation for the tropical system hovering just offshore of Mississippi to 30% in the next two to seven days.
Regardless of whether a tropical depression forms in the Gulf of Mexico this week, Lafayette and south Louisiana can expect heavy rainfall and potential floods, according to the National Weather Service.
The risk of heavy rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds coming to south Louisiana this week has increased as a low pressure system near Florida heads for the Gulf of Mexico.