A sprawling area of storms infused with tropical moisture is dropping heavy rain along the Gulf Coast and could produce significant flash flooding into the weekend. The threat Friday is not as bad as previously expected,

A system was detected off the Atlantic Coast of Florida and is expected to move into the northern Gulf Coast and develop into a tropical depression.

A cluster of thunderstorms that meteorologists call a tropical disturbance was moving west across the far northern Gulf on Thursday, delivering scattered heavy rainfall over the central Gulf Coast. Rain was expected to continue into Friday.