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Officials with the Alabama Emergency Management Agency are alerting Gulf Coast residents to be weather aware as a new storm forms in the Gulf.

Tropical Storm Barry formed Sunday in the Bay of Campeche but moved into Mexico early this morning (Monday) and dissipated.

An area of low pressure is forecast to form mid to late week along a frontal boundary anywhere from the eastern Gulf to the southeastern Atlantic.  Wherever the low-pressure forms, it will move very little through this coming weekend as steering currents will be very weak. There continues to be a 20 percent chance of tropical development beginning Wednesday.  As of right now, very heavy rainfall is forecast to remain offshore through this weekend, but this could change quickly depending upon exactly where the low-pressure area forms.

This potential system should be a strong reminder to develop or review your hurricane preparedness plans.  Hurricane Helene less than a year ago should also tell you impacts of wind, tornadoes and torrential rainfall can reach far inland.  Hurricane preparedness is NOT just for those living near the coast.

Looking closer to home, for today through Tuesday, numerous mainly afternoon and evening thunderstorms will occur statewide each day.  Very heavy rainfall with localized flooding, frequent lightning, and a few wind gusts from 30-50 mph are possible.  From Wednesday through Friday, scattered showers and thunderstorms are forecast over the far southern sections of the state, with dry conditions elsewhere.