A tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico officially developed into Tropical Storm Francine Monday and could be a low-end Category 1 hurricane by Wednesday as it heads toward landfall on the Texas or Louisiana coasts.
The center of the storm was an estimated 245 miles south southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande and about 480 miles south of Cameron, Louisiana on Monday morning. With sustained winds estimated at 50 mph, the elongated system was barely moving at 5 mph in a north-northwesterly direction.
The storm is expected to continue its slow north-northwestward motion for the rest of Monday, the NHC said, followed by a "faster motion" to the northeast beginning Tuesday.
Francine is expected to be just offshore of the northern Gulf Coast of Mexico through Tuesday, and approach the Louisiana and Upper Texas coastline on Wednesday, according to the hurricane center. The NHC also said gradual intensification is expected over the next day with "more significant intensification" on Tuesday night and Wednesday.
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Barra del Tordo to the mouth of the Rio Grande and extends to Port Mansfield. Other areas under a Tropical Storm Watch include east of High Island, Texas to Cameron, Louisiana, west of Grand Isle to the mouth of the Pearl River, and lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas.
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the Louisiana coast from Cameron eastward to Grand Isle, according to the NHC.
Weather watch: Tropical system could be hurricane by Wednesday, headed toward Louisiana and Texas
NHC also tracking two other disturbances in Atlantic
The NHC also said Monday morning it is tracking two other disturbances brewing in the Atlantic Ocean.
The first disturbance, currently labeled as Invest 92L, is producing "disorganized showers and thunderstorms" over the central tropical Atlantic, the NHC said, and environmental conditions appear "marginally conducive" for development during the next few days.
A tropical depression is expected to form while the system moves over the central tropical Atlantic, and the storm should begin moving westward-northwestward at 10 mph by the middle of the week, the hurricane center said. The disturbance currently has a 60% chance of formation through the next seven days.
The second disturbance, currently located several hundred miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, is also producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms, according to the NHC.
The system is expected to interact with an approaching tropical wave in the next couple of days, and environmental conditions appear favorable for a "gradual" development of this system thereafter, with a tropical depression possibly forming during the middle to later part of this week.
The NHC gives this disturbance a 60% chance of formation through the next seven days.
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Tropical Storm Francine tracker
Tropical Storm Francine spaghetti models
Spaghetti model illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The Hurricane Center uses only the top four or five highest performing models to help make its forecasts.
Dinah Voyles Pulver covers climate change and the environment for USA TODAY. She's been writing about hurricanes, tornadoes and violent weather for more than 30 years. Reach her at dpulver@gannett.com or @dinahvp.
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Storm tracker: Latest details, projected path of Tropical Storm Francine, other systems in Atlantic
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