On Monday morning, Francine was over 200 miles southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande with maximum wind speeds of 50 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service. The storm is expected to become a hurricane before it reaches the northwestern coast of the Gulf of Mexico by the middle of the week, forecasters said.

Tropical Storm Francine has formed in the Gulf of Mexico, prompting watches along the Texas and Louisiana coasts. The storm is expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall somewhere along the Upper Texas or southwestern Louisiana coasts on Wednesday.