The storm’s maximum sustained winds early Wednesday have increased to near 70 miles per hour.
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Jeff Masters, at the forecasting service Weather Underground, gave it a 70 percent chance of becoming a tropical storm by the end of the week.
Tropical Storm Gaston was located about 850 nautical miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands as of Wednesday morning.
A storm has to have, among other things, winds of 35 miles per hour to be considered a tropical depression.
Only one of two active Atlantic tropical systems poses a significant threat to land during the next 10 days. It will be a hot and humid day with highs in the mid-90s but we should see scattered showers and storms this afternoon as a weak upper-level feature moves from east to west across the state.
A disturbance called “invest 99-L” will approach the Leeward Islands and ultimately the Bahamas over the next few days, and could become Tropical Storm Hermine.
We’re now in peak hurricane season, so it’s no surprise the Atlantic is seeing so much activity.
The disturbance has been given an 80 percent chance of further development over the next five days. “For the number of named storms and the number of hurricanes we are running a little bit faster than an average year”.
A new storm system has appeared on the horizon, and weather experts have already started predicting it may reach hurricane status and potentially impact south Florida.
Regardless of development, the storm will bring gusty winds and heavy tropical downpours to areas of the Caribbean from Puerto Rico and Hispaniola to the Bahamas.
Unfortunately as of today, satellite imagery shows quite a burst in thunderstorm activity and hurricane reconnaissance aircraft flew into the disturbance to get a better idea if there has been any organization overnight.
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As ocean temperatures begin to cool over the next month, the Gulf of Mexico becomes the focal point as warm water in the Gulf make storm formation more likely here.
