The Hurricane Center in its 5 p.m. advisory Thursday began issuing a Tropical Storm Watch for most of Florida, including the state’s east and west coasts, Florida Keys, Lake Okeechobee, and Florida Bay.
The system, which has maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, is expected to become a tropical depression on Friday and a tropical storm late Friday or Friday night as it moves northeast over the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Hurricane Center.
If sustained winds strengthen to 39 mph, it would become Tropical Storm Alex, the first name on this year’s list of storm names for the Atlantic basin.
Regardless of development, the system could bring flooding rains across South Florida, with some areas seeing 8 to 12 inches of rain.
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