UPDATE: Tropical Depression Nine has been upgraded. It's now Tropical Storm Humberto, threatening Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi with torrential rains. An earlier report follows:

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are watching two new tropical depressions that formed today in the western Atlantic and in the Gulf of Mexico just off the Texas coast.

The first is Tropical Depression Eight, gathering strength east of the Windward Islands. Here is the latest advisory. Here is the forecast track, which would seem to take it toward the U.S. Virgin Islands. And here is a view from orbit. If this storm reaches tropical storm strength (sustained winds of 39 mph) first, it would be named Humberto.

The second, and more immediately worrisome, is Tropical Depression Nine, which has boiled up in the Gulf, right on the Texas coast. Tropical Storm warnings and watches have been posted for parts of the Texas and Louisiana coastlines. This storm could dump 5 to 10 inches of rain on parts of the region, with some spots receiving as much as 15 inches as the storm heads inland toward the north and east. (Some places, like Galveston, have already seen several inches of rain.)

That sort of rain could cause devastating floods. But it may also put an end to the severe drought that has been scorching the Deep South, especially Alabama, this summer. New Orleans, mercifully, seems not to be in the bullseye this time.

Here is the latest advisory. Here is the forecast track. And here is the view from space.

If it reaches tropical storm force after TD8, it would be named Ingrid. If they spin up in the reverse order, TD Nine would become Humberto.