The National Hurricane Center continued to track Subtropical Storm Patty in the North Atlantic on Sunday, but it’s an unnamed system in the Caribbean that is getting the most attention at home.

An area of low pressure in the southwestern Caribbean is expected to become a tropical depression in the next few days, and it appears to be headed for the Gulf of Mexico, according to forecasters.

However, not much is certain about it after that point, including how strong it could be and where it could go.

A few more details could come into focus today. The hurricane center said that an Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft is scheduled to investigate the area later today.

The hurricane center said the system, which is being called Invest 97 for now, was disorganized on Sunday and was generating a wide area of rain and storms over the western Caribbean Sea.

Forecasters expect it to gradually get organized and become a tropical depression “within the next couple of days.”

The hurricane center thinks it will stay on a path to the north or northwest and make it into the southern Gulf of Mexico later this week.

In the meantime it is expected to spread heavy rain across parts of Jamaica, Hispaniola and Cuba.

Forecasters also expect another area of low pressure to the east near the Greater Antilles to merge with the Caribbean system late Monday.

The hurricane center has given the Caribbean system a 90 percent chance of becoming a depression in the next few days.

ANY ALABAMA EFFECTS?

The National Weather Service in Mobile was watching the Caribbean on Sunday and said there was a lot of uncertainty about how it will evolve.

It will send a surge of tropical moisture northward that should affect parts of south Alabama later this week, which could kick off rain and storms and continue a high risk of rip currents along the coast.

Farther north, the weather service in Birmingham said possible impacts to central Alabama remain unclear, and it has added a lot of uncertainty to the forecast for the region from Wednesday through Saturday.

Those along the coast will need to keep an eye on the forecast through this week to track the evolution of this system.

It would need a defined surface circulation and winds of at least 39 mph to become a tropical storm and get a name. The next name on the 2024 storm list is Rafael.

If the system were to organize and head toward the Alabama or Florida Gulf coasts it would encounter much cooler waters, which could hamper any strengthening.

Here is a look at recent sea surface temperatures in the Gulf:

SUBTROPICAL STORM PATTY

The hurricane center also continued to track Subtropical Storm Patty on Sunday, which was pulling away from the Azores islands. Forecasters expect Patty to become a non-tropical system later today.

As of 9 a.m. CST Sunday, the center of Subtropical Storm Patty was located about 175 miles east-southeast of Lajes Air Base in the Azores and was moving east at 16 mph.

Patty had sustained winds of 45 mph, making it a minimal subtropical storm. Patty peaked earlier Sunday with 65 mph winds, not too far from hurricane intensity (74 mph and higher).

A tropical storm warning remained in effect for all of the Azores on Sunday.

The Atlantic hurricane season will end on Nov. 30.