Invest 95E could be Flossie

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is monitoring an area of low pressure a few hundred miles off the coast of Central America for tropical development later this week.

This system has a high probability of becoming a tropical depression or tropical storm, according to the NHC. If it becomes a tropical storm, it will be called Flossie.

This watch area has been designated as Invest 95E by the NHC. Invest is a naming convention used by the NHC to identify areas under investigation for possible development into a tropical depression or tropical storm over the next seven days.

According to the NHC, thunderstorms within Invest 95E are becoming more organized and now have a medium chance of forming over the next two days and a high chance of developing over the next week.

Probability of development

The hurricane season in the Eastern Pacific has started with a lot of activity. Last week, the hurricane Erick hit the southwest coast of Mexico as a strong Category 3 storm, causing widespread power outages and leaving one baby dead.

Meteorologists do not yet know the impact that Invest 95E could have on the Central American coast. Earlier data from computer forecast models indicated that Invest 95E would move into the open ocean, but more recent data indicate that it will stay closer to the coast.

"Environmental conditions appear conducive for the gradual development of this system over the next several days, and a tropical depression or tropical storm is likely to form later this weekend," the NHC wrote in a Wednesday morning forecast.

Heavy rains are expected in parts of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala starting Wednesday and through the weekend.