An impending storm forming over the Gulf Coast could soon dump rain on both Texas and Louisiana. 

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported Monday morning it expects “Invest 97L” to become a tropical depression or tropical storm. The NHC says there is a 70 percent chance of depression or storm formation, with the upper Texas coast and portions of southwestern Louisiana most likely to receive the greatest rainfall. 

Invest 97L is expected to make landfall in the Port Arthur, Texas area on Tuesday afternoon, per Space City Weather’s Eric Berger. The storm’s track will then run through the Houston area and northwest toward the Dallas Fort-Worth Metroplex, likely passing through the greater Houston area overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday morning.

Forecast models from WeatherFront predict just over 1.5 inches of rain in Houston. That total rises to 2.25 inches in Galveston and roughly 3 inches in Winnie, with greater rainfall totals expected near the coast. 

“If you live on the Upper Texas Coast east of Baytown through about Cameron Parish, LA, it makes sense to prepare for a tropical storm,” Berger wrote Monday. “This means the potential for heavy rain, gusty winds, some minor to moderate coastal flooding, and rough seas.”

Invest 97L could become the third named storm in a quiet hurricane season thus far.

Tropical Storm Arthur and Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall in Texas this year, and Colorado State University’s Department of Atmospheric Science-one of the nation’s leading hurricane forecasting groups-predicts there will be just nine named storms in the entire 2026 hurricane season. Nine named storms in 2026 would mark a significant drop from historical averages between 1991 and 2020, when there were an average of 14.4 named storms, 7.2 hurricanes and 3.2 major hurricanes.

CSU gives a 10 percent chance of a major hurricane making landfall along the Gulf Coast through November. That’s down from the 27 percent average from 1880 to 2020. 

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This article originally published at Forecasts expect tropical storm, heavy rain in Texas towns.