Sunday, July 19: Latest insights on the Tropical Depression from the National Hurricane Center

Article published: Sunday, July 19, 2026, 11 a.m. ET

System type: Tropical depression

The tropical depression was first addressed in an advisory by the National Hurricane Center at 11 a.m. Sunday. The tropical depression is in the Gulf of Mexico, 155 miles south of Panama City, Florida. The system, with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph, is moving to the north-northwest at 2 mph.

Forecasters issued a tropical storm watch for the Florida Panhandle.

Watch currently in effect

Tropical Storm Watch for Ochlockonee River to the FL/AL border

Meaning of the watch

A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, in this case in the next 36 to 48 hours.

Additional watches will likely be required over the next day or two.

Hazards affecting land

Wind. Tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area by late Monday.

Storm surge. The combination of storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the immediate coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide... Indian Pass to Chassahowitzka, FL...1 to 3 ft The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast.

Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances. For a complete depiction of areas at risk of storm surge inundation, please see the National Weather Service Peak Storm Surge Graphic, available at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?peakSurge.

Rainfall. The tropical depression is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches with locally higher totals around 8 inches through Thursday along the eastern and central Gulf Coast from western Florida to southern portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. This rainfall may produce areas of flash flooding, especially in urban areas. For a complete forecast of rainfall associated with Tropical Depression Two, please see the National Weather Service Storm Total Rainfall Graphic available at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?rainqpf and the Flash Flood Risk graphic at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?ero.

Source: National Hurricane Center

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This story was originally published July 19, 2026 at 11:00 AM.