The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on an area of low pressure near the Leeward Islands, which has a 60% chance of becoming a cyclone. However, environmental conditions could become a little more conducive for development early next week when the system moves into the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
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The NHC forecast notes that additional weakening of this storm can be expected throughout the day on Thursday. By Saturday, Gaston is expected to be upgraded to a category 1 hurricane, with wind speeds ranging between 74 to 95 miles per hour (64 to 82 kts).
The tropical activity in the Atlantic is at its hottest peak starting from mid-August to mid-October.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the system’s strongest winds were below tropical storm strength but that it could strengthen as it approaches Florida and the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend. Experts expect Gaston to remain as a hurricane for a couple of days but will not harm anyone as it moves on the open waters of the Atlantic just east of Bermuda. Should the storm become organized, it could become a tropical depression or Tropical Storm Hermine.
Gusty winds and locally heavy rainfall were forecast to spread into parts of southern Florida and the Florida Keys over the weekend, the National Hurricane Center reported. However, some of the more reliable models are showing the system entering the eastern Gulf of Mexico as a week system and going into the Florida panhandle by mid-week, Grigsby said. According to the latest forecast updates, Gaston has maximum sustained winds of 70 m.p.h., moving to the northwest at 16 m.p.h.
Johnson predicted 1 to 3 inches of rain for the region, with the potential of 4 inches in some areas, “but it’s going to depend on how it develops”.
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Numerous computer models bring the potential storm near or over Florida by the end of this weekend or early next week.
