NEW ORLEANS - The Hurricane Forecast Center said this morning there's a "90 percent chance" that a tropical depression could form by Thursday and threaten much of the Gulf coast, then possibly head north with rain-soaked remnants of the storm.

The system -- currently labeled "Potential Tropical Cyclone Two" -- is currently in the Gulf of Mexico, but it could move southwest from the Florida panhandle and strengthen into a tropical depression. If it builds wind speeds over 39 miles per hour, it will be named Barry, to indicate it's the second storm of the season.

It would then have a good chance to strengthen further and become a hurricane by Saturday.

Such a storm or hurricane could present a danger to Louisiana, and particularly New Orleans, with a possible 12 to 18 inches of rain and "life threatening flooding." As it moves inland, it would also ramp up the potential for more flooding along the already swollen Mississippi River.

The last time a hurricane hit the U.S. in July was Arthur in 2014, when it made landfall in North Carolina.