In the latest Tropical Outlook just issued by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, forecasters have changed the orange on their maps to red, putting Florida on alert for the possible impacts of a tropical cyclone in the coming days. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) now believes there’s a 70% chance that a tropical cyclone will form here in the coming days.

A well-defined tropical wave is producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms over Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the Southeastern Bahamas, and the adjacent waters of the southwestern Atlantic and northeastern Caribbean Sea. According to the NHC, development of this system should be slow to occur during the next day or so while it moves west-northwestward over portions of the Greater Antilles. However, beyond 48 hours, environmental conditions are forecast to be more conducive for development after the wave passes the Greater Antilles, and a tropical depression is likely to form this weekend or early next week over the eastern Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Peninsula.

“Interests across the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, and Florida should continue to monitor the progress of this system,” the NHC said.