The NBC2 First Alert Hurricane Tracking team continues to monitor the movement of a tropical wave over the Atlantic Ocean near the Dominican Republic.
The wave, referred to as Invest 97L, is not currently strong or organized enough to be considered a tropical depression, and it's unlikely that it will be able to rapidly organize over the next two days.
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Latest maps, models and paths for Invest 97L
The term "invest" means an area of tropical weather "
invest
igation
;" it is not a storm name designation. When a tropical wave is considered to be an invest area it allows tropical weather-specific forecast models to run, offering us a better idea as to where a budding system may move. The "97" part of the Invest 97L term refers to what order it falls during the season and the "L" letter portion of the term means that it's in the Atlantic basin.
As of 2 p.m. Thursday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center says the wave we've been watching this week has a 30% chance of forming into at least a tropical depression within the next two days but a 70% chance over the course of the next seven days.
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NBC2 First Alert Hurricane Guide+
These numbers are both 10% higher than on Thursday morning. If this storm becomes named, it will be Tropical Storm Debby.
Land interaction is a big factor in this part of the world, and one of the biggest reasons why it's difficult to see a situation where this wave becomes an organized tropical system by the end of the work week. Through Friday, the tropical wave will be over or near parts of Hispaniola and Cuba, stamping down any huge or rapid development spells.
The area to monitor for potential tropical organization is highlighted in red below. At the moment, the region includes areas as far south as Cuba, as far east as the Florida Atlantic coast, the entire peninsula and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Early tropical weather-specific forecast models point to the system eventually getting into the Gulf of Mexico early next week.
For now, the main impacts to our community looks to be an increase in rain coverage starting this weekend. It should be stressed with any not-yet-formed tropical system the situation is fluid and subject to change based on the storm's evolution. It's a good idea in this case to make a point to be updated on the system at least once per day.