NHC watching trough over the eastern Gulf of Mexico

The National Hurricane Center is keeping an eye on a trough of low pressure over the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

The feature is producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Over the next day or so, the system is expected to move northeastward across Florida.

Environmental conditions are expected to be generally unfavourable, although some slow development is possible when the system is offshore of the U.S. Southeast coast.

Over the next few days, heavy rainfall is expected across portions of Florida.

The first named storm of the year will be Alberto.