Tropical system to bring heavy rain, flooding to Gulf Coast

Forecasters predict a tropical system will bring heavy rain, storm surge and coastal flooding to the U.S. Gulf Coast as early as Friday and throughout the weekend.

The poorly-organized disturbance was located Friday morning about 255 miles south of Morgan City, Louisiana.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says maximum sustained winds were about 35 mph.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

The system is expected to produce up to 8 inches of rain across the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, and up to 12 inches throughout the weekend along the central U.S. Gulf Coast.