Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) are continuing to monitor the progress of Invest 94L in the Atlantic and have designated a disturbance in the western Caribbean Sea as Invest 95L, which could develop into a tropical depression or tropical storm near Central America.

Invest 95L in Caribbean to bring rain to Central America

The NHC said widespread showers and thunderstorms continue across the northwestern Caribbean in association with a broad area of low pressure that is gradually becoming better defined to the north of eastern Honduras.

Environmental conditions for the system, dubbed Invest 95L, appear conducive to some additional development over the next day or two, and a short-lived tropical depression or storm could form before the system moves inland over Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico on Saturday, the NHC notes.

Regardless of development, locally heavy rainfall is likely across portions of Central America and southern Mexico through the weekend.

Fox Weather hurricane specialist Bryan Norcross said the hostile atmospheric conditions over Florida and the northern Gulf of Mexico should keep any potential tropical systems from threatening the US for the foreseeable future.

Will Invest 94L impact Florida?

Forecasters with the NHC said Invest 94L is a broad area of low pressure east of the Leeward Islands that has been producing disorganized precipitation and thunderstorms.

“The disturbance still has a reasonably well-defined but broad circulation,” Norcross said. “But dry air has not allowed thunderstorms to organize and persist, which in turn would tighten the circulation — the requirements for the tropical depression designation.”

The NHC said Invest 94L is expected to generally move off to the west or west-northwest, and some slow development is possible over the next couple of days as it heads toward the northeastern Caribbean islands.

“On the current schedule, the disturbance will be near or north of Puerto Rico and the nearby islands about Friday, then slowly continue to the west toward the southeastern Bahamas or perhaps near Haiti or eastern Cuba,” Norcross said. “It’s not clear that the system will be identifiable by that time, but it will draw tropical moisture over the mountainous islands, bringing the possibility of flooding and mudslides.”

If you plan to travel to popular warm-weather destinations such as Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands, you’ll want to monitor the forecast.

For the millions of people in Florida still recovering from back-to-back major hurricanes, Helene and Milton, Invest 94L doesn’t appear to be impacting the Sunshine State at this time.

“There is no threat to Florida or the southeastern US, but everyone on the northeastern Caribbean islands should stay informed just to be sure the disturbance doesn’t misbehave,” Norcross said.

The NHC is giving the system a low and dwindling chance of developing over the next week.