Despite the fact that the path of the Tropical Storm Alex will likely bypass the area around the devastating Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP officials in charge of cleaning up the spill have, nonetheless, geared up for any last-minute exigency.

According to recent reports, the first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season – which runs from June 1 to November 30 – was heading in the direction of the Yucatan Peninsula on Saturday night; and, as per the indications, will probably turn northwest towards the southern coast of Texas; thereby circumventing the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

However, noting that the Tropical Storm Alex was giving the jitters to the BP officials, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the Obama administration's point man for the spill, said: “We all know the weather is unpredictable, and we could have a sudden last-minute change.”

According to Allen, in case the storm with winds speeding at over 46 mph appear heading towards the oil spill region, the ongoing efforts to kill the spewing well – from which nearly 60,000 barrels of oil is spilling each day – will have to be shelved.

Noting that it would take around five days to disengage the ships from the capture system and take them to a safe harbor, and about one week hook them up again, Allen further added that federal, state and local officials, working in tandem with BP, may resort to widespread evacuations if the situation worsens.