At a Glance

An area of disturbed weather near the Texas Coast may develop slowly this weekend.It will move westward into southern Texas.Locally heavy rain and flash flooding is the main threat, even in drought-stricken Texas.

There is a small chance of tropical development in the Gulf of Mexico before much of drought-suffering southern Texas gets soaked this weekend.

A broad area of low pressure is being monitored, with showers and thunderstorms swirling from the Louisiana to the Texas coasts.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) first highlighted this area Friday morning, giving it a low chance of developing into a tropical depression.

The NHC has tagged this system as Invest 98L. An invest is an area that the NHC is watching closely using advanced computer models and other resources, including the Hurricane Hunters, for possible development.

Occasionally, these disorganized showers and storms over the Gulf can eventually become more concentrated. If that happens, and a well-defined area of low pressure forms, NHC would deem that as a tropical depression.

Forecast

As is typical in August, there is an ample supply of on which a budding tropical system can feed. And neither of the twin nemeses of tropical cyclones – wind shear and dry air – appear to be too high in the Gulf.

However, this system won't have much time before it moves into southern Texas today, when any chance for development would end.

Whether or not it becomes a depression, parts of coastal and south Texas will see soaking rain each day through early Monday.

This appears to be great news for parts of the .

However, locally heavier rain is likely where bands of rain stall out for an hour or more. This will trigger flash flooding in at least a few areas, even where rain hasn't fallen for some time, as heavy rain runs off ground hardened by drought.

Hurricane Season Ramping Up

The Atlantic has been in a slumber since Tropical Storm Colin developed in early July, but we're entering the most active period of hurricane season.

The bulk of tropical storms and hurricanes occur between the later half of August and the first half of October, with a peak around Sept. 10.

(MORE: Don't Count On A '0 For August' In Hurricane Season)

The time is now to prepare for a hurricane. You can find tips on how to develop your hurricane plan .

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, .