A swirling area of thunderstorms over the northwestern Caribbean and Yucatan Peninsula is forecast to become a tropical depression or weak tropical storm Thursday as it moves toward Florida. If it becomes a tropical storm, it would be named Alex.
Why it matters: Regardless of its intensity, the storm is forecast to bring flooding rains to Cuba, parts of Mexico and South Florida as well as the Florida Keys this weekend. In fact, rainfall forecasts for Florida have been increasing for this storm.