The National Hurricane Center has issued a tropical storm watch for the central U.S. Gulf Coast.
A developing weather system is expected to become Tropical Storm Gordon, bringing with it heavy rain and gusty winds for the Labor Day holiday Monday.
The Miami-based center said Sunday evening that the storm system is brewing about 385 kilometers east-southeast of Marathon in the Florida Keys.
It said the storm, which is gradually gaining strength, could dump 5-10 centimeters of rain over parts of the Bahamas, the Florida Keys and south Florida through early Tuesday.
The NHC has also issued a flash-flood watch for large parts of the Louisiana coast into the Houston area.
"With the peak of hurricane season upon us, now is the time to get prepared," Florida Governor Rick Scott reminded his state in a tweet.
Last year, hurricanes walloped Texas, Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, causing thousands of deaths, hundreds of billions of dollars in damage, massive power outages and devastation to hundreds of thousands of structures. Many of those effected areas have yet to recover.
