The Air Force Reserve’s Hurricane Hunters are planning to head to the Gulf of Mexico today (Monday) to check out what could become 2024′s first named tropical storm, Alberto.

As of Monday morning it wasn’t a storm, or even a depression, but a large area of low pressure in the extreme southern Gulf (or Bay of Campeche).

The National Hurricane Center has been monitoring that disturbance for days and has given it a 70 percent probability of becoming a tropical depression or storm by mid-week.

The disturbance is expected to track very slowly to the west or west-northwest, which could take it into Mexico or extreme south Texas in a few days.

The system will likely not be a strong one, but it could also bring a lot of heavy rain to parts of Texas and Louisiana through the week, according to the hurricane center.

Here’s the seven day precipitation outlook from NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center, showing what forecasters are expecting in the way of rain for the Gulf Coast this week:

The disturbance, or potential Alberto, is not expected to directly affect Alabama, but areas along the coast still have a high risk of seeing rip currents and rough surf through the week.

Below is the rip current forecast for Alabama and northwest Florida through Friday:

The National Weather Service in Mobile was keeping an eye on the system and said it was part of a bigger weather system often called the Central American Gyre.

The Gyre can be the breeding grounds for tropical systems in the Gulf and Caribbean. While the weather service isn’t expecting this tropical disturbance to affect Alabama, deep tropical moisture from the larger Gyre is expected to stream over the southern part of the state this week, leading to a good chance of a soggy week for parts of south Alabama, along with the risk of rip currents.

The hurricane center noted that those along the western and northwestern Gulf coasts should keep an eye on this system.

IN THE ATLANTIC

That’s not all that forecasters are watching as of Monday.

The hurricane center also was monitoring a disturbance that was several hundred miles east of the Bahamas on Monday.

It also has a chance — a 30 percent chance as of Monday — of becoming a tropical depression in the next seven days.

It is expected to also track to the west or west northwest, which would bring it near the Florida or Georgia coasts by Thursday or Friday.

There are also some indications that the system, or its remnants, could continue westward and into the Gulf, which could bring more moisture to parts of Alabama.

It’s very uncertain how that system will affect the U.S. at this point, however.

A tropical system has to have a closed, defined center of circulation and winds of at least 39 mph to be considered a tropical storm and get a name.

The first two names on the 2024 storm list are Alberto and Beryl.

There are no other tropical systems in the Atlantic of note as of Monday.