Forecasters are predicting that an area of disturbed weather southeast of Puerto Rico will likely become a tropical storm later today, and could be a threat to Florida this weekend.
Tropical Storm Warnings are already posted for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and portions of the Dominican Republic.
National Hurricane Center Forecaster Jack Beven said that while the system is getting better organized, a report from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft found that the system does not yet have a well-defined closed circulation. It is expected to become a tropical storm later today or tonight.
The potential tropical storm would get the name “Fred” if it is upgraded.
The cone of uncertainty covers much of the Florida peninsula, with tropical storm-force winds potentially arriving into the South Florida area sometime Friday.
At 11 a.m. Eastern Time, the system was 220 Miles east-southeast of Puerto Rico, heading west-northwest at 18 mile-per-hour. Top winds were put at 35 miles per hour.
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Tony Winton is the editor-in-chief of the Key Biscayne Independent and president of Miami Fourth Estate, Inc. He worked previously at The Associated Press for three decades winning multiple Edward R. Murrow awards. He was president of the News Media Guild, a journalism union, for 10 years. Born in Chicago, he is a graduate of Columbia University. His interests are photography and technology, sailing, cooking, and science fiction.