Weather experts are still monitoring a large area of ​​low pressure near Central America that could develop into a tropical storm or hurricane and hit Florida later this week.

But exactly where the storm will go and how powerful it will be remains unclear, as showers and thunderstorms associated with the system were disorganized Sunday morning.

“There’s still a lot of uncertainty,” said Rodney Wynn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Tampa Bay. “There’s going to be shifts in this storm as it forms. We’re telling everyone from the West Coast (of Florida) to the northern Gulf Coast to be prepared for that. It could impact a very large area.”

The National Hurricane Center said early Sunday morning that the system, which was located near Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, had a 70 percent chance of developing in the next seven days, up from 10 percent since Saturday. It is likely to develop into a tropical depression in the coming days as it moves northward in the Gulf of Mexico.

Once a storm develops, meteorologists have a better idea of ​​where it’s headed. Most current models show possible storm paths toward the Florida panhandle and the Big Bend area of ​​the state, while some show paths closer to Tampa Bay.

Any storm system can impact the Tampa Bay area, no matter where it goes. Rain chances increase by midweek, Wynn said. A storm would bring worsening marine conditions, possible water jets and tornadoes, gusty winds and the threat of storm surge.

Wynn said in advance of a potential storm, people should prepare hurricane kits with essential supplies, create an emergency plan for their family, check to see if they live in a flood zone and monitor the latest weather forecasts.

In anticipation of the potential storm, the weather in the Tampa Bay area is expected to be warm and sunny. Dry air will keep rain chances low for the next few days before precipitation picks up again late this week.

Forecasters also have their eye on another part of the map in the eastern Atlantic, where they say a tropical wave could form and move westward in the coming week. The Hurricane Center has indicated that this system has a 40% chance of forming in the next 7 days.

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