United States

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

August 21, 2012; 8:55 AM

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An area of disturbed weather is being watched in the Gulf of Mexico for possible development during part of this week.

At least for the next several days, a broad area of disturbed weather will impact areas from the west-central Gulf Coast, the Gulf of Mexico itself and the northern and eastern Gulf Coast areas.

The combination of an old front dipping into the Gulf and leftover moisture from Helene also has a window of opportunity to bring about a new tropical system.

If a system were to form in the western Gulf area, it would not be named Helene, but rather a new name from the Atlantic Basin list.

According to Dan Kottlowski, head of the AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center, "Barometric pressure is lowering in the region and conditions are marginally favorable for development in the short term."

If a system were to form over the next couple of days, it would be carried westward toward northeastern Mexico and would end up quickly over land.

"Such a path would bring more drenching rain to some areas recently hit by Helene," Kottlowski said.

If no system forms during the first part of the week, a disturbance moving eastward over Texas will tend to stretch out the moisture and low pressure inhibiting development.

There is also the chance that no significant development takes place and the showers and thunderstorms gradually diminish over the region as the week progresses.

The broad area of showers and thunderstorms has the potential to cause flash and urban flooding issues on land, problems for recreation over the region in general and perhaps minor disruptions to petroleum activities over part of the Gulf in big thunderstorms.

Folks over the drought-stricken southern Plains and the lower Mississippi Valley would not mind a weak, but drenching tropical system to come calling. However, a zone of dry air pushing southward should prevent that scenario with this particular system.

Meanwhile, a disturbance over the central Atlantic has a become a tropical depression and bears, which could become this season's iStorm, watching from not only a Caribbean standpoint, but also the southeastern U.S.