(AccuWeather) – Formation of a “home brew” tropical storm is anticipated as a growing mass of drenching showers and gusty thunderstorms over the northern Gulf of Mexico is forecast to congeal as the week progresses. Non-tropical storms that originate over the U.S. mainland and then develop just offshore over the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic into tropical systems are often referred to by meteorologists as “home brew” tropical storms. “AccuWeather meteorologists believe this system will become a tropical depression on or before Thursday and Tropical Storm Barry by Friday,”

according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski. There is a 90 percent chance that the system becomes a named tropical system in the next five days, AccuWeather meteorologists predict. Officials in New Orleans are monitoring for any potential storm surge impacts on the Mississippi River. “The city is protected to a project height of 20 feet. There is still a great deal of uncertainty regarding potential impacts, so please continue to monitor the forecast over the next several days for the latest information,” the National Weather Service in New Orleans said in a tweet. READ MORE