NHC: Fred Expected To Reach Florida By Saturday

Daytona Beach, FL – Fred, now a tropical depression but expected to reach tropical storm strength again, continues to skirt the coast of Cuba as the system makes its way towards Florida. The latest reports from the National Hurricane Center in Miami say Fred was poorly organized as of this morning. Reports from hurricane hunter aircraft and satellites indicate that the circulation is barely closed. In addition, there is currently no organized convection anywhere near the center of the storm. Because of this, Fred will remain classified as a tropical depression. Fred’s current northwestward motion should take the depression away from the southeastern Bahamas and bring it near the north coast of Cuba. After that time, Fred should approach the western periphery of the ridge, which should cause the cyclone to turn northwestward and slow its forward speed. Forecasters say there is still some uncertainty as to the when and where the turn will take place, as track guidance models spread across regions from over Florida to the east-central Gulf of Mexico. On its current track, it still seems that Fred will begin to impact the Florida Keys by early Saturday (August 14) morning, the same time the system is expected to reach tropical storm strength again. As of Thursday afternoon, maximum sustained winds are at 25 mph as the storm moves west-northwest at 14 mph.