The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is continuing to monitor the development of an area of low pressure in the Eastern Pacific that’s expected to become a tropical depression or Tropical Storm Flossie this weekend.

The area to watch has been designated as Invest 95E by the NHC. An invest is a naming conversion used to identify areas forecasters are investigating for possible tropical development into a tropical depression or tropical storm within the next seven days.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

The NHC said that showers and thunderstorms associated with Invest 95E a few hundred miles south-southwest of the coast of Guatemala have diminished over the past day or so, but the system is expected to encounter more favorable upper-level winds in a few days.

That’s when the NHC said a tropical depression or Tropical Storm Flossie could develop by late this weekend as the system moves slowly west-northwest off the coast of southern Mexico.

The NHC is giving the system a medium chance of developing over the next two days, and a high chance over the next seven days.

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

DOWNLOAD THE FREE FOX WEATHER APP

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, leaving a baby boy dead and causing widespread power outages.

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 undergo rapid intensification before it made landfall last week.

HOW ARE HURRICANES RATED? THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE EXPLAINED

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. 

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.