NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The National Hurricane Center continues to watch several areas of interest in the tropical Atlantic.
After impacting several islands in the eastern Caribbean, Hurricane Fiona is now churning over the Atlantic just north of Turks and Caicos as a Category 3 storm. It is expected to lift north towards Bermuda over the weekend before hitting Nova Scotia early next week.
For Gulf Coast residents, the main focus for now will be on a tropical wave near the Windward Islands that has a high, 90 percent chance of formation.
The system is expected to strengthen into a tropical depression or tropical storm during the next 2 to 3 days as it moves westward through the Caribbean.
Most computer models show the storm turning towards the Gulf of Mexico by early next week, but it is too early to tell where it may go from there or how strong it will be.
If it were to impact the Gulf Coast, it would not be until late next week, so there is plenty of time to watch how the forecast evolves. Now would be a good time to review hurricane preparedness plans, just in case.
The NHC is also tracking two tropical waves near Africa and Tropical Storm Gaston in the northern Atlantic. None of these systems pose a threat to the United States.