The Gulf Coast might be hit with another hurricane — perhaps as soon as this weekend. The National Hurricane Center on Wednesday identified Tropical Depression 16 as a storm that is "forecast to strengthen and bring tropical storm conditions" immediately, and then expected to "continue strengthening over the Gulf of Mexico, and could affect portions of the northern Gulf Coast as a hurricane."
The storm, which will be called Nate when it fully forms, is projected to hit the edge of Central America as a tropical storm this week. The NHC then predicts Nate will pick up force across the Gulf of Mexico and hit the Florida panhandle and surrounding states as a hurricane this weekend, though it did caution that it is "too early to specify the timing or magnitude of these impacts."