Hurricane Francine weakens to a tropical storm. Three other systems tracked in the Atlantic

Hurricane Francine powered up into a Category 2 storm hours before it crossed through Louisiana on Wednesday, the third storm to make U.S. landfall this season. It has now weakened back to a tropical storm.

The National Hurricane Center’s forecast calls for Francine to continue rapidly weakening, downgrading to a tropical depression by late Thursday.

The storm brought several feet of storm surge and damaging flash flooding to south Louisiana, NOLA.com reported. Several parishes issued evacuation orders in preparation.

By mid-morning Tuesday, the hurricane center also began issuing forecast tracks and updates for a newly formed tropical depression — the seventh of the season.

The system is forecast to strengthen into a tropical storm as soon as Thursday, and it is headed west-northwest across the Atlantic. Forecasters said that by the weekend, conditions could grow more hostile for the storm. By Wednesday evening, long-range models began to indicate a curve away from land toward the weekend.

The next name on the list is Gordon.

The hurricane center is also tracking three disturbances in the Atlantic. None appear to be immediate threats to land.

The system off the southeast coast has only a 30% chance of formation in the next seven days. The hurricane center noted that “some subtropical or tropical development is possible during the early part of next week while the system meanders drifts to the north or northwest.”

The other two disturbances are in a conga line in the main development region, with low chances of development anytime soon. The eastern one is down to 20%, a slow decline over the last few days that could end up at zero by Friday, and the western one sits at a 10% chance of formation.

“The proximity of dry air near the system is expected to limit additional development over the next couple of days before environmental conditions become even less conducive by this weekend,” forecasters wrote.