A newly formed depression in the Caribbean could enter the Gulf of Mexico as Tropical Sara next week, potentially reducing the chances it could pose a threat to Florida later in the week.

The National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Sara formed in the Caribbean on Thursday and long-term forecast models show it could enter the Gulf

Tropical Storm Sara continues to churn in the western Caribbean, and it looks unlikely the storm will make it to the Gulf of Mexico.

Tropical Storm Sara forms in the Caribbean as experts warn of possible Florida impacts - The storm is expected to bring life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides to Ho

The center of the storm has become more exposed due to strong winds, and convective storms are displaced to the northeast of Rafael as shown on the enhanced satellite imagery. National Hurricane Center meteorologists expect Rafael to make a clockwise loop in the Gulf of Mexico before gradually shifting southward.

Hurricane Rafael made landfall in western Cuba on Wednesday and has now moved on to the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Later this week and over the weekend, weakened steering currents are likely to cause the system to meander offshore or along the coast of Central America. Toward the end of the forecast period, a front moving into the western Gulf of Mexico is expected to shift the storm to a northwestward track.

A tropical depression that forecasters expect to form in the Caribbean Sea within the next week is forecast to reach the Gulf of Mexico early next week, forecasters with the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Wednesday.