Tropical storm Gaston forms in the Atlantic

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - The first half of the hurricane season has been unusually slow but now things are heating up quickly in the tropics.

The seventh named storm of the season has formed -- Gaston -- in the north central Atlantic but will have no impacts on any land areas as it lingers over the north Atlantic over the next five days.

A tropical wave southeast of the Caribbean is moving to the WNW at 10-15 mph and has a really good chance of developing into the next named storm. The next name on the list is Hermine. This is the one that we will be watching closely over the upcoming week.

It is too early to say whether it will have a major impact on our weather but if it were to have an impact it would be late next week around Wednesday or more likely Thursday of next week.

It would be a good idea to go over your hurricane plan and look to see if you have enough supplies in your hurricane kit. You should be able to survive for at least three days on your own.

Hurricane Fiona continues to get stronger. With winds now up to 115 mph they are expected to climb to 130 mph by late Wednesday making it a Category 4 hurricane as it tracks toward Bermuda. This storm could hold together and have a huge impact on the Canadian Maritimes, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island by Saturday.

Our forecast is calling for a little drier air slipping in on Wednesday but more so on Thursday and Friday. Expect to see mostly sunny skies in the morning on Wednesday and then partly cloudy in the afternoon with a 40% chance for late day storms. They will be scattered and wont’ be as concentrated as we dealt with last week. Highs will be near 90 degrees with winds out of the east-northeast at 5-10 mph.

Thursday there will be plenty of sunshine with highs in the upper 80s at the beaches and low 90s elsewhere with only a 20% chance for a late day storm. Friday will be like Thursday with plenty of sunshine a little chance for rain.

The weekend is shaping up to be nice with generally sunny skies and partly cloudy skies late in the day with a 30-40% chance for late day storms as the atmosphere starts to moisten up a little. Highs will be in the upper 80s to near 90 each day.

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