National Hurricane Center, ABC Accu-Weather team watching tropical system in Caribbean Sea

MIAMI, Fla. - According to the National Hurricane Center, a broad area of low pressure centered near the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula is producing  a large area of showers and thunderstorms extending from the Yucatan northeastward across western Cuba to southern Florida.

Upper-level winds are forecast to become more conducive for development during the next day or so as this disturbance moves slowly northward into the central Gulf of Mexico.

The system has a medium chance, 50 percent, of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.  

Beyond that time, conditions are expected to remain favorable for development, and interests along the entire Gulf Coast should monitor the progress of this disturbance through the weekend.

Heavy rains and localized flooding are possible across the Yucatan, western Cuba, and southern Florida through Saturday.