The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is monitoring a broad area of low pressure several hundred miles off the coast of Central America for tropical development later this week.

This system has a high likelihood of developing into a tropical depression or tropical storm, according the NHC. If it becomes a tropical storm, it will be named Flossie.

It’s been an active start to hurricane season in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Last week, Hurricane Erick roared ashore along Mexico’s southwestern coast as a strong Category 3 storm and caused widespread power outages and left a baby boy dead.

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Forecasters are still unsure of the exact impact this system might have on the Central American coastline. Earlier computer forecast model data showed this system tracking into the open ocean, but more recent data shows it staying closer to the coast.

“Environmental conditions appear conducive for gradual development of this system, and a tropical depression is likely to form over the weekend,” the NHC wrote in its Tuesday morning outlook.

Heavy rainfall is expected in portions of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala beginning Wednesday and continuing through the weekend. Some areas could see at least 8 inches of rain, according to the FOX Forecast Center.

It’s been an active start to hurricane season in the Eastern Pacific. Climatology records show that the “F” named storm forms, on average, around Aug. 3 in that basin.

A large pocket of warm water off the coast of Central America and southwestern Mexico has been conducive for development. This warm water helped Hurricane Erick to undergo rapid intensification before it made landfall last week.

According to the NHC, rapid intensification occurs when a tropical cyclone’s maximum sustained winds increase by at least 35 mph in a 24-hour period. 

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“It’s got a lot of real estate to work with,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Craig Herrera said Tuesday morning, referring to the area to watch.

Hurricane Barbara was the first hurricane to form in the basin on June 9.

The Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 to Nov. 30.