A day after Gov. Ron DeSantis said that a potential tropical system could impact Florida, the National Hurricane Center issued an advisory on Friday, saying a tropical depression will likely form within the next several days. The advisory characterized the system as “Disturbance 1.”
The area of low pressure is currently producing showers and thunderstorms, and “Environmental conditions appear conducive for gradual development of this system during the next several days,” according to the NHC.
“I’ve directed [Kevin Guthrie] and the FL Emergency Management team to prepare for a potential tropical storm system currently moving across the Yucatán Peninsula,” DeSantis posted Thursday on X, formally Twitter. “Residents should remain vigilant and prepare for possible impacts early next week.”
Kevin Guthrie is the executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which confirmed in a post minutes later it was “monitoring a potential tropical system off the Yucatan that may impact [Florida] early next week.”
Guthrie told Fox Weather his division would prepare this weekend as if the state sees a Category One hurricane, focusing on the Gulf Coast.
Florida is still recovering from Hurricane Ian. The third-costliest storm in history, which peaked as a Category Five storm and made landfall over the southern Gulf Coast as a Category Four, caused historic flooding and storm surges in September 2022. Ian was the costliest hurricane in Florida history, responsible for over 150 direct and indirect deaths and over $112 billion in damage, according to an NHC report.
In a Friday statement, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis urged Florida residents to prepare for the possibility of a tropical depression, which could strengthen into a tropical storm and hit Florida’s Gulf Coast.
“I am urging Floridians to prepare now and to heed all watches and warnings from state and local officials,” Patronis said. “If a tropical storm is formed, it could make landfall Tuesday or Wednesday of next week with the potential to drop heavy amounts of rain, which can lead to flooding.”
Preparation for a potential storm comes as Tropical Storm Franklin, located north of Puerto Rico, is forecast to strengthen over the weekend. The NHC currently projects the storm to move northeast on Friday, before a sharp turn into the western Atlantic through next week – which would put it out of range of Florida.
The next storm is to be called “Idalia,” a name of Greek origin meaning “behold the sun.”
DeSantis is expected to be in Kershaw, South Carolina, on Monday for a campaign event, according to his website, as the Republican primary race heeds on.
The NHC is also monitoring two other disturbances in the mid-Atlanic. One, the remnants of Tropical Storm Emily, is currently roughly 1000 miles northeast of Bermuda and is producing showers and thunderstorms. The NHC puts its chance of developing into a tropical depression at 20%.
The other, currently roughly halfway between West Africa and the Caribbean, could become a tropical depression by early next week as the storm is expected to move northwest towards the central Atlantic.
This article originally appeared in florida phoenix