Tropical Storm Erika headed toward Bahamas, Florida
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — After emerging in the western Atlantic on Tuesday, Tropical Storm Erika was forecast to aim in the general direction of Florida and the U.S. coastline.
Still, the fifth named storm of the season may spare us.
Over the next five days, Erika is projected to tilt northwest on a path that would keep it east of the Bahamas and clear of South Florida. Potentially, it could curve out to sea.
Further, the system was not expected to intensify into a hurricane because it is likely to move into an area of hostile winds.
At its strongest, it was predicted to reach about 70 mph, or just short of hurricane status, then weaken to 50 mph, said Dennis Feltgen, spokesman for the National Hurricane Center in Miami-Dade County.
"It's going to be fighting wind shear," he said.
The big caveat: Because long-range forecasts can contain large errors, forecasters urged South Florida residents to monitor the system's progress.
On Tuesday evening, Erika was in the Atlantic 350 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, moving northwest at 9 mph with sustained winds of 50 mph. It was almost 1,600 miles southeast of Miami.
Of immediate concern, the storm threatens to pelt the northern Leeward Islands with gusty winds and heavy rains. Tropical storm watches have been issued for several of the islands, including St. Maarten, Antigua and Barbuda.
After days of wallowing as a tropical wave and threatening to blossom, Erika finally developed a closed circulation. Just the same, the system was "not well-organized," Feltgen said.
The hurricane center also was monitoring another wave near the coast of Africa, saying it might slowly develop.
