TALLAHASSEE, FL (352today.com) – A tropical system in the Gulf of Mexico could bring heavy rain to most of Florida over the weekend and into next week, according to an executive order released by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday.

According to the National Hurricane Center, the system is “forecast to organize and develop Invest 97L into a tropical depression over the weekend and early next week over the eastern Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Peninsula.”

The counties placed under a state of emergency in the governor’s executive order are:

  • Alachua
  • Baker
  • Bay
  • Bradford
  • Calhoun
  • Charlotte
  • Citrus
  • Clay
  • Collier
  • Columbia
  • Dixie
  • Duval
  • Escambia
  • Flagler
  • Franklin
  • Gadsden
  • Gilchrist
  • Gulf
  • Hamilton
  • Hernando
  • Hillsborough
  • Holmes
  • Jackson
  • Jefferson
  • Lafayette
  • Lake
  • Lee
  • Leon
  • Levy
  • Liberty
  • Madison
  • Manatee
  • Marion
  • Monroe
  • Nassau
  • Okaloosa
  • Orange
  • Osceola
  • Pasco
  • Pinellas
  • Polk
  • Putnam
  • Santa Rosa
  • Sarasota
  • Seminole
  • St. Johns
  • Sumter
  • Suwannee
  • Taylor
  • Union
  • Volusia
  • Wakulla
  • Walton
  • Washington

For important information from sandbag locations to closures to emergency contacts, bookmark our Hurricane Weather Center.