A former tropical disturbance being watched by hurricane forecasters failed to form into a tropical depression before reaching the Louisiana coast, but it still threatens downpours and flash flooding as it marches inland on July 18,

Torrential downpours that can trigger dangerous flooding is the main threat from a tropical rainstorm along the north-central Gulf coast for the balance of this week. Southern Louisiana is in the crosshairs.

A tropical disturbance in the Gulf is set to dump heavy rain in the South as the Northeast braces for more flooding. The tropical system in the Gulf has a 40% chance of developing into a tropical depression, and if it strengthens enough to a named storm, it would be dubbed Dexter.