ORLANDO, Fla. – All eyes will be on the tropics this weekend as Florida’s weather could be impacted.
Invest 94L developed into potential Tropical Cyclone Nine on Thursday, and it could become better organized as it moves near the eastern Bahamas late Friday into Saturday.
If it becomes a named storm, it will be called Imelda.
Forecast models mostly show the storm tracking north of the Bahamas and potentially impacting parts of Georgia and the Carolinas by the middle of next week.
However, uncertainty remains, with a few models still looping the storm near South Florida. The main consensus as of Friday morning keeps the bulk of the activity to the northeast.
In Central Florida, the main impacts are likely to show up early next week, especially Monday, in the form of gusty winds (up to 25 mph possible), rough surf and a high risk for rip currents along area beaches.
Wave heights that could peak at 17 to 20 feet near the tropical system, with local surf running 6 to 10 feet.
[WATCH BELOW: Possible scenarios: Could Fujiwhara Effect impact tropical systems near Florida?]
As the system moves away and wraps in drier air, rain chances are actually expected to drop slightly for Central Florida.
The seven-day forecast calls for heat and humidity to persist, with a drier trend possible Monday and Tuesday.
However, since the system has not yet developed, it’s track is difficult to predict and very well could change, so keep checking News 6, News 6+, ClickOrlando.com and the News 6 Weather App to stay up to date.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Umberto is strengthening even farther out in the Atlantic, about 800 miles east of Invest 94L.
[VIDEO BELOW: How to track tropics via free News 6 Weather App]