Tracking The Tropics: System Could Be A Real Rainmaker Over Holiday Weekend

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - We will be tracking the tropics here at CBS4 weather control for the rest of the week, specifically this weekend with two areas of concern.

As of now they are both over 1,000 miles away from South Florida and do not appear to be a significant threat to the area yet, but they may impact the weekend weather. In addition to stormy weather, there is a good possibility that we may be talking about a Tropical Depression or the season's next named storm which will be Florence.

A tropical wave is approaching the Lesser Antilles Wednesday and even though no significant development is expected over the next few days, it will continue to bring moisture through the Bahamas and into our area by the end of the long weekend. As the moisture increases, showers and storms which have been spotty this week will increase. More widespread showers and storms are likely to develop late Saturday through Sunday and continue Monday. Downpours along with gusty wind will move through the state and into the Gulf of Mexico by the end of the holiday weekend.

The second area of concern is just about to move off the coast of Africa and has a medium chance of development over the next 3 to 5 days. The National Hurricane Center continues to increase the development potential and it appears that a tropical depression may form near the Cape Verde Islands early next week. Should the system continue to develop it would then become Florence as it moves over the open Atlantic. We will continue to monitor the development of this system and stay update the forecast throughout the holiday weekend.

Despite the tropics being relatively inactive this season, it appears that's beginning to change come September. Make sure your supplies stocked and review your hurricane plan as we are still in what is historically the most active part of the Atlantic Hurricane Season.

By CBS4 meteorologist Dave Warren