Tropical Depression Three May Bring Heavy Rain to Parts of Florida, The Bahamas

The new tropical depression in the Atlantic has formed near Florida. Weather forecasters also predict it could bring heavy rains in parts of the Sunshine State and the Bahamas.

The National Hurricane Center started to issue advisories on Tropical Depression Three on Monday afternoon as the system continued to organize despite being given only a 10 percent chance of development less than a day earlier.

Forecasters said Tropical Depression Three will remain offshore of the Southeast U.S. coast through Wednesday and is unlikely to have significant impact in the region early this week.

The depression has kept much of its shower and thunderstorm activities over the adjacent Atlantic waters, but the NHC is also monitoring the Gulf of Mexico for a low chance of development later this week.

The center of the system is expected to travel north then northeast before merging with an approaching cold front.

Significant strengthening of the depression is not forecasted but there is a chance the system could briefly become a tropical storm before it dissipates by late Tuesday or Wednesday.

Tropical depressions form when a low pressure area is accompanied by thunderstorms that generate circular wind flow with maximum sustained winds below 39 mph. Once the wind exceeds 39 mph, it is considered a tropical storm and gets a name.

The next tropical storm that develops in the Atlantic Basin this season will go by the name Chantal. As of Monday night, forecasters did not seem to think the depression could become tropical storm Chantal.

The system remains offshore because of the presence of a frontal system near the East Coast, so no significant impacts are expected for the Southeast U.S. coast.

The potential hazards associated with Tropical Depression Three include 1 to 3 inches of rainfall in the Bahamas and the East coast of Florida over the next 48 hours.

According to the National Weather Service in Miami, the storm coverage over South Florida could pick up late Monday and Tuesday and remain high through the course of the week.

Forecasters said that the storms will bring heavy rains, urban flooding, lightning and gusty winds. Some of those winds could gust to 50 mph.