Tropical Storm Debby formed Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said, making it the first named storm in the Gulf of Mexico this season. The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, but got off to an early start this year.
– High winds are whipping up a 90%-chance tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico today and causing oil companies to evacuate rig workers, MSNBC reports. If Tropical Storm Debby does form, the northern Gulf Coast may see tropical storm warnings, and localized flooding and heavy rain could strike Mexico, Cuba, and Florida "over the next day or two," according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm would probably move slowly west toward Texas by midweek, Weather.com reports. Or, in a less likely scenario, it could roll east over Florida and up the mid-Atlantic, or linger in the north-central Gulf and move into Louisiana-Mississippi.