Downpours are expected in Houston on Friday as a tropical disturbance along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico stalls without strengthening.

A flood watch will go into effect for much of south Louisiana this week as a slow-moving low-pressure system heads toward the Gulf of Mexico, bringing with it the potential for downpours and flash flooding along the Gulf Coast.

A tropical storm may form this week, bringing risks of flash flooding and strong thunderstorms from Florida to Louisiana.

Is it merely another drippy week along the Gulf Coast—or perhaps the beginning of something much more significant? With the Atlantic hurricane season cranking up, everyone is following a large area of showers and thunderstorms chugging westward from the Florida Panhandle into the Gulf of Mexico.

Regardless of whether a tropical depression forms in the Gulf of Mexico this week, Lafayette and south Louisiana can expect heavy rainfall and potential floods, according to the National Weather Service.

Hurricane center forecasters said the system, designated as Invest 93L, is forecast to continue moving westward and could emerge or redevelop.

Invest 93L has slid into the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, where conditions could favor some development as it moves west across the north-central Gulf. It will move into

Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM has entered into a multi-year agreement with Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. HLX to carry out plug and abandonment (P&A) operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, a region where aging infrastructure is increasingly becoming the focus of decommissioning activity,