An area of disturbed weather tracking westward near the northern Gulf Coast has a small chance to develop into a tropical depression through the end of the week, but it's still expected to bring some impacts in the form of rainfall and rip currents. A stretched-out area of low pressure meteorologists call a trough will continue to track near the northern Gulf Coast over the next day or two. What the National Hurricane Center is watching for is the possibility that converging winds along this so-called trough could help generate a more well-defined area of low pressure that attempts to make a run at forming into a tropical depression or storm. For now, the NHC says there is a low chance of that happening in the waters near and offshore from the northern U.S. Gulf Coast before the disturbance slides inland by this weekend. The next Atlantic storm name isDexter. Regardless of any attempt at tropical development, this moisture-laden disturbance will generate tropical downpours over the next couple of days. Below is a look at the latest radar showing where this system is producing rainfall right now. Locally heavy rain could impact areas from the Florida Panhandle westward along the northern Gulf Coast to southern Louisiana and the upper Texas coast through Friday. Isolated instances of flash flooding might occur in these areas and some storms could contain gusty winds. If you are planning a beach trip, there will be an increased threat of rip currents to be aware of late this week at beaches from the Florida Panhandle to Alabama and Mississippi. There are color-coded flags placed on many beaches each day to communicate the rip current threat. A green flag (low risk) indicates that strong rip currents are not likely. A yellow flag (moderate risk) means that there is a good chance for strong rip currents and a red flag (high risk) signals that strong rip currents are expected and you should stay out of the ocean You can alsogo to this linkfor the latest rip current forecast. Chris Dolcehas been a senior digital meteorologist with weather.com for 15 years after beginning his career with The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.