Developing tropical storm with hurricane potential likely to impact SC. Here’s the latest forecast

A new system in the Gulf of Mexico could develop into a tropical storm and then a hurricane before moving into the Southeast in the coming days, weather experts say.

The storm, which would be named Helene once it reached tropical strength, is producing showers and thunderstorms that have started showing signs of organization with a broad area of low pressure, according to a morning advisory from the National Hurricane Center .

Currently dubbed Invest 97L, the system could become a tropical storm by Monday or Tuesday — and a hurricane by late Tuesday, the latest Weather Channel forecast shows. The storm is expected to enter the southern Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday as a hurricane and generate some high surf and outer rainbands along parts of Florida's coast.

While there is still some uncertainty, the storm is predicted to make landfall as a hurricane in the Florida Panhandle on Thursday, the Weather Channel states.

How will the storm impact SC?

Chris Landolfi, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in West Columbia, said the agency was keeping a close eye on the system and expected it to impact South Carolina.

"There is a pretty good consensus that the storm will develop somewhere in the Gulf and move north toward the Panhandle of Florida then slowly move inland afterward. It's not going to be a direct landfall into South Carolina," Landolfi said. "We could have impact later this week, mainly with a potential for possible heavier rain and some strong winds."

Landolfi added that the heavy rains had the potential to generate some flash flooding in parts of South Carolina.

The NWS plans to issue more detailed briefings on the potential impact of the storm in South Carolina in the coming days.