A tropical depression is likely to form in the Caribbean Sea or the Gulf of Mexico this week, according to the National Hurricane Center. What is not yet known is whether this system will continue to develop into a tropical storm or a hurricane.

Should the system develop, forecasters said a tropical depression could form as the system moves slowly to the north or northwest into the southern Gulf of Mexico through the end of next week. Rodney Wynn, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s Tampa office, said forecasting models don’t have a good grip on the system yet.