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At a Glance The upper floors of the 18-story hotel collapsed Saturday.

Wind and rain could topple tall cranes at the site or cause the building to collapse further.

Rain and thunderstorms are expected to hit the region starting Friday. A tropical system brewing in the Gulf of Mexico could lead to further disaster at the site of the collapsed Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans.

Officials fear wind and rain from the system, which has a chance of developing into a tropical storm, could cause the unstable wreckage of the building to come down completely or topple over two unsteady cranes towering over the rubble and other structures, the Times-Picayune reported.

If the cranes fall, they could damage buildings nearby at the edge of the French Quarter, including the historic Saenger Theater.

“There’s no protecting it from that thing coming down,” New Orleans Fire Department Superintendent Tim McConnell said. “There’s nothing you could do.”

(MORE: Tropical Depression or Storm Could Form in Gulf of Mexico)

As of Wednesday morning, the tropical system was a broad area of low pressure over southeastern Mexico and the Bay of Campeche. While future development was uncertain, rain and thunderstorms were expected to arrive along parts of the northern and eastern Gulf Coasts Friday.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/staticmaps/DCT_SPECIAL102_1280x720.jpg" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/staticmaps/DCT_SPECIAL102_1280x720.jpg 400w, https://s.w-x.co/staticmaps/DCT_SPECIAL102_1280x720.jpg 800w" > (Officials in New Orleans are keeping a close eye on a tropical system - the orange X on this map - that could cause further damage at the site of the collapsed Hard Rock Hotel.)

"Showers and winds of 10 to 15 mph are currently expected in the New Orleans area Friday into the weekend as the disturbance in the Gulf approaches the northern Gulf Coast," weather.com meteorologist Linda Lam said.

"However, if some tropical or subtropical development occurs as this system tracks through the Gulf of Mexico, locally heavy rain is possible, along with stronger winds, possibly sustained ones up to 35 mph."

The upper floors of the 18-story hotel under construction collapsed Saturday. Two construction workers were killed and one remains missing. The cause of the collapse hasn't been determined.

(MORE: Japan's Skies Turned Purple as Typhoon Hagibis Moved in)

The cranes were damaged in the collapse and officials are still grappling with how to secure them and the rest of the building, the Associated Press reported. One crane is about 270 feet high, well the other rises to around 300 feet.

Even without the threat of bad weather, the site remains susceptible to further damage. Monitoring equipment showed the cranes moving slightly on Tuesday, with barely a breeze blowing, according to the Times-Picayune.

“There is absolutely a very good likelihood of further collapse of this building,” McConnell said. “Our prayer is that it doesn’t impact the cranes.”

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.