While Gaston is not headed our way the three tropical systems are expected to influence weather in the U.S.
Advertisement
After days of speculation and concern along the Gulf Coast, the Hurricane Center says there is just a 20 percent chance of development over the next two days and 40 percent over the next five days.
A broad area of low pressure near Cuba is not expected to develop into anything. Gusty winds and locally heavy rainfall are likely over portions of the Bahamas, and will spread into parts of southern Florida and the Florida Keys late this weekend.
A weak low-pressure trough is situated about 100 miles off the coast of Louisiana and is producing showers and thunderstorms in the north central Gulf of Mexico. Conditions are not expected to be conducive for development before this system reaches the coast of Texas on Sunday.
Heavy rain was expected to fall from Louisiana to southeastern Texas for the next few days.
The hurricane center said dry air near 91L could slow its development.
The center of Gaston was located 655 miles east-southeast of Bermuda and was moving towards the northwest at a speed of eight miles per hour. There are also the questions of what wind sheer, which has already hampered development of the storm, will do to the system in the coming days.
Shower and thunderstorm activity associated with the weather system known as Invest 99-L increased Friday afternoon, but the system remained disorganized, the National Weather Service said. However, data from the NASA/NOAA Global Hawk aircraft indicate that the low is producing winds near 35 miles per hour east of the center. Early Thursday Gaston became the third named hurricane of the Atlantic season, but weakened to a tropical storm later in the day. The odds of tropical formation within 5 days is 30%.
Advertisement
A tropical disturbance will bring soaking rain to south Florida, the Bahamas and Cuba this weekend and could form into a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico by midweek, forecasters said.
