The National Hurricane Center said Tropical Depression Nine formed Tuesday afternoon in the Bay of Campeche and is likely to strengthen quickly, potentially making landfall as a Category 2 hurricane. NHC forecaster John Cangialosi said the system currently has 35 mile per hour winds and is predicted to reach about 100 mile per hour before landfall. The depression is expected to move east then turn north later in the week, accelerating toward a Gulf Coast landfall overnight Friday into Saturday according to the 4 p.m. advisory. The storm is forecast to become a tropical storm early Wednesday and a hurricane by Thursday, and its compact size is expected to favor rapid strengthening. The first cone of uncertainty from the 4 p.m. update shows a potential landfall between southeastern Louisiana and the Florida panhandle, with New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast inside the cone. The NHC warned heavy rainfall, coastal flooding and gusty winds are possible, and noted significant uncertainty remains about the timing and location of the northeast turn and how fast the system will move to the coast. If the depression becomes a named storm it would be called Isaias; the system was previously tracked as Invest 92L.
