Forecasters say tropical system could form in Gulf

Hurricane forecasters are reporting that a disturbance in the Caribbean Sea now has a 70 per cent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone.

Meteorologists at the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said if it does become a named storm, it will be called Debby.

The NHC said the system can become a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours as it moves slowly northward into the central Gulf of Mexico.

The centre said the system is producing an extensive area of cloudiness, showers and scattered thunderstorms over the northwestern Caribbean Sea, western and central Cuba, southern Florida and the northwestern Bahamas.

Forecasters also said satellite data and surface observations indicate that the low pressure system is gradually becoming better defined and could develop into a tropical depression during the next day or so.