Invest 93L will move across Florida Panhandle Wednesday. What to expect
Invest 93L's path through the Gulf will ultimately determine how widespread its impacts will be on its way to the Louisiana coast, and whether it will have enough time for further development before making landfall early afternoon July 17.
Chances of development into a tropical depression remained at 40% over the next 48 hours, according to the NHC's latest tropical weather discussion.
Tropical Storm Dexter will be the next named storm for the Atlantic hurricane season, but it's unlikely that Invest 93L will reach tropical storm status at the moment.
Invest 93L is currently a broad area of low pressure moving westward across the Florida Panhandle between Tallahassee and Panama City. It's expected to bring between 1 to 2 inches of rain to the Panhandle through July 16.
Invest 93L not likely to become Tropical Storm Dexter
Invest 93L moved across Florida July 15 and into the Gulf on July 16 where it is anticipated to redevelop and strengthen before making landfall somewhere along Louisiana's eastern coast early afternoon July 17, according to AccuWeather's timeline.
The chance that Invest 93L strengthens into a tropical depression remained at 40%, according to the NHC's latest forecast. How the storm tracks through the Gulf will be a major factor in its development.
A faster storm is more likely to track northward, giving it a shorter path and less time to strengthen. Should the storm stall in the Gulf, it will likely take a more southern route, giving it extra time to develop, according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva.
The Florida Panhandle expected to see 1-2 inches of rain
Invest 93L will be a rainmaker regardless of whether it strengthens into a tropical depression.
Heavy rain that could lead to localized flooding is the biggest concern in the Florida Panhandle, where AccuWeather says could see 1 to 2 inches of rain.
The area will see high rain chances between July 16-18, with July 17 likely being the wettest day, according to the National Weather Service office in Mobile, Alabama.
The NWS issued a rip current statement on the morning of July 16, indicating that coastal areas in Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties will see a high risk of life-threatening rip currents between July 17-19, along with rough surf up to 4 to 5 feet.
Where is Invest 93L now?
Surface and radar observations indicate that a broad area of low pressure is moving westward across the Florida Panhandle between Tallahassee and Panama City.
The associated shower and thunderstorm activity is disorganized and located mainly south and southwest of the center. This system is forecast to continue moving westward, and could emerge or redevelop over the far northeastern to north-central portion of the Gulf later today or tonight, reaching the coast of Louisiana by July 17
If this system moves far enough offshore, environmental conditions over the Gulf appear generally favorable for additional development, and a tropical depression could still form over the next couple of days before the system moves fully inland by the end of the week.Regardless of development, heavy rainfall could produce localized flash flooding over portions of Florida.
Heavy rainfall could also cause flash flooding for portions of the north-central Gulf Coast beginning late today and continuing through July 18.
Formation chance through 48 hours: medium, 40%.
Formation chance through 7 days: medium, 40%.
Invest 93L timeline: When is landfall?
Invest 93L was moving westward across the Florida Panhandle between Tallahassee and Panama City, as of 7 a.m. Wednesday morning.
The storm is expected to continue on its track in a westward motion until it makes landfall somewhere along Louisiana's eastern coast around 2 p.m. Thursday.
Invest 93L is expected to hook north-northwest after landfall, moving across New Orleans and then Baton Rouge by Friday morning.
The storm's path will then track northward along the Louisiana-Mississippi border before hooking north-northeast over Mississippi on Saturday morning.
Spaghetti models for Invest 93L
Special note about spaghetti models: Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest performing models to help make its forecasts.
Florida weather radar for July 16, 2025
Weather watches and warnings issued in Florida
Contributors: Cheryl McCloud - USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida
Editor's note: This story was updated to provide information about the storm's timeline.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Tropical Storm Dexter not likely as Invest 93L moves into Gulf
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