Update: Tropical Disturbance Under Careful Watch

While it’s still too early to tell for certain if a large tropical disturbance kicking up in the Atlantic will eventually form into a named storm, the National Weather Service is monitoring its development closely.

As of Monday evening, the area of low pressure was located several hundred miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands and was ”gradually becoming more organized,” according to the National Weather Service. Weather service forecasters say the storm has a 60 percent chance of forming into a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours. Those chances rise to 80 over the next five days.

“Environmental conditions appear conducive for additional development of this system, and a tropical depression will likely form within the next few days while the system moves west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph,” the National Hurricane Center wrote in its 8 p.m. Monday update.

As of Monday evening, the storm posed no immediate threat to the United States, but forecasters say it bears careful monitoring.

For folks in the already rain-battered Tampa Bay area, National Weather Service meteorologist John McMichael reminds “it’s still very far away from us. Just continue to monitor its progress.”

The weather service intends to do just that with updates on development planned for release at 2 a.m., 8 a.m., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. daily.

In the meantime, Tampa Bay area residents are warned that continued afternoon rain storms may add insult to injury in an already drenched region. Flooding concerns remain high in Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties where saturated grounds and high river levels are still the most immediate threats.

“We looking at good chances for showers and thunderstorms in the next several days,” McMichael said of the Tampa Bay area. These storms, he added, may serve to exacerbate ongoing flooding concerns in parts of the region.

Between the afternoon storms and the disturbance in the Atlantic, residents are urged to keep a close eye on the forecast.

Check out your local Patch’s homepage for an extended forecast for your neighborhood.

Graphic courtesy of the National Hurricane Center

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 7:34 p.m. Aug. 17 to reflect the latest information from the National Hurricane Center.