Dangerous flash flooding is occurring in parts of Texas and Louisiana as a developing tropical storm moves across the Gulf of Mexico.

Government hurricane forecasters are calling the system "Potential Tropical Cyclone One" as the weather disturbance prompts warnings of life-threatening rain, storm surge, tornadoes, and possible tropical storm conditions across parts of the Gulf Coast.

The National Hurricane Center said the system is expected to bring 4 to 8 inches of rain through Thursday from the middle and upper Texas coast across much of Louisiana and into portions of Mississippi, Alabama, and the western Florida Panhandle.

Isolated areas could receive up to 1 foot of rain.

Added rainfall of 1 to 3 inches is also expected in northeastern Mexico south of Brownsville, Texas.

Tornadoes are possible through Tuesday night from the upper Texas coast across parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle.

Storm surge is also possible along portions of the Gulf Coast. Water levels could rise 2 to 4 feet above normally dry ground from Port Bolivar, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana.

Surge levels of 1 to 3 feet are possible in surrounding coastal areas, including Galveston Bay, Sabine Lake, Calcasieu Lake, Vermilion Bay, and areas east toward the mouth of the Mississippi River.

The National Hurricane Center also warned that swells generated by the system could create dangerous surf and rip current conditions along the northwestern Gulf Coast over the next several days.

The system was centered about 55 miles south-southwest of Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday afternoon with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph and was moving northeast at 6 mph.

Forecasters said the disturbance could strengthen into a tropical storm as early as Wednesday before moving near the upper Texas coast and then making landfall in eastern Texas or southwestern Louisiana late Wednesday or early Thursday.

A tropical storm watch is in effect from Sargent, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana.

The National Hurricane Center gives the system a 70% chance of becoming a tropical cyclone within the next 48 hours, potentially making it the first named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season.