A visible image of System 97L showing a large area of cloudiness and thunderstorms while local radar showed heavy rainfall in the eastern part of Puerto Rico mid-day on July 20.

UTC (11:15 a.m. EDT) on July 20 showed clouds (and showers and thunderstorms) over the Northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Dominican Republic.

The National Hurricane Center noted that showers and thunderstorms have become more concentrated near Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands during the morning hours of July 20. A flash flood watch is now in effect for all of Puerto Rico, including Culebra and Vieques and for all of the U.S. Virgin Islands through this evening.

Even if System 97L doesn’t develop it will still bring heavy rainfall and gusty winds to the Northern Leeward Islands, The Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Eastern Cuba, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Southeastern Bahamas during the next couple of days. The National Hurricane Center gives System 97L a “40 percent chance” of developing into a tropical depression in the next 48 hours.