The area of disturbed weather that we have been watching the past few days has developed into a tropical storm. Ernesto formed Thursday afternoon just east of the Windward Island with 50 mph sustained winds.
The forecast path will take it westward through the Caribbean over the next few days, and will bring it near or across the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico early next week. Following that, Ernesto bears watching since the central and western Gulf Coast could be its final destination.
(You can see the latest stats and forecast track in our Hurricane Tracker)
The National Hurricane Center is forecasting Ernesto to become a category one hurricane by early next week.
The threat for the southeastern coast of the United States has minimal risk of seeing Ernesto. A large area of high pressure will press Ernesto southward, preventing it from moving too much farther north over the next few days.
