The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed Tropical Depression Two formed Sunday off the west coast of Florida.
The depression is moving north-northwest at 2 mph. A slow northwestward or north-northwestward motion is expected through Monday.
Tropical Depression Two has maximum sustained winds near 30 mph with higher gusts. Gradual strengthening is forecasted.
A tropical storm watch has been issued for the Florida panhandle. A tropical storm watch means that storm conditions are possible within the next 36 to 48 hours. Additional watches are expected over the next day or so. Meteorologists expect the depression to become a tropical storm sometime Sunday or Monday.
Key concerns are storm surge and coastal flooding. Surge-related flooding depends on the timing of the surge and the tide and may vary over short distances.
The NWS expects rainfall totals to reach up to eight inches through Thursday along the eastern and central Gulf Coast from western Florida to southern portions of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
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