Tropical Depression Two Forms in Eastern Gulf of Mexico

Tropical Depression Two formed Sunday in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. On Monday morning the center sat about 100 miles south of the eastern Florida Panhandle with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph. The National Hurricane Center forecast the depression to reach tropical-storm strength with 40 mph winds later Monday.

It is expected to peak at 60 mph sustained winds by Wednesday and Thursday before becoming Tropical Storm Bertha, the second named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season. A Tropical Storm Watch remained in effect from the Ochlockonee River in the Florida Panhandle to the Mississippi-Alabama border. The watch signals possible tropical-storm conditions through Tuesday.

Storm surge along the immediate coast in the watch area could reach 1 to 3 feet. The depression is expected to drift slowly northwest along the northern Gulf Coast over the next several days. Heavy rain already fell across parts of Florida, with 1 to 3 inches recorded in Sarasota and Venice counties in the 24 hours ending Sunday morning and 6 to 7 inches measured just west of St.

Petersburg over the preceding three days. Forecast models indicate 2 to 4 inches of additional rain through midweek across the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend region, with isolated higher totals possible. Track uncertainty after the system strengthens Monday could shift the heaviest rainfall either farther inland or keep it closer to the coast before it moves west later in the week.