(WTXL) - A tropical depression formed quickly Wednesday morning in the Caribbean, east of Nicaragua, and could turn into a hurricane that would threaten Florida's gulf coast this weekend.
Tropical depression 16 is expected to intensify into a tropical storm within 24 hours while traveling north into the Gulf of Mexico.
A forecast cone from the National Hurricane Center projects the storm will make landfall as a hurricane this weekend somewhere between New Orleans and Tampa Bay, with the Florida Panhandle as the center point.
National Weather Service meteorologist Kelly Godsey says residents need to prepare.
One logistical issue facing the state is that Florida State University is scheduled to host the University of Miami in a football game Saturday afternoon in Tallahassee.
As of early this afternoon, FSU said it was monitoring the storm, but no change in the schedule was announced.
