Tropical Storm Francine is forecast to become a hurricane before reaching land in central to southeastern Louisiana Wednesday afternoon or evening. It will trigger heavy rain across the central Gulf region, stretching east into the Florida Panhandle and the western Big Bend region. Locally, there won't be widespread adverse effects experienced. However, rain amounts will range from 1 to 3 inches through Saturday. A few gusty storms will affect Panhandle and western Big Bend areas Wednesday night and Thursday.
Open Atlantic tropical waves persist, thousands of miles away from the U.S. While one of them has a greater chance to turn into a tropical depression through the end of this week, there will be ample time to monitor the trends with that and other sources of tropical moisture present in various parts of the basin.
