This story is no longer being updated. Please click here for the latest updates.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The National Hurricane Center announced Monday early evening that Tropical Cyclone Six has formed.
According to an 11 p.m. advisory, the disturbance is bringing heavy rains and gusty winds across the Leeward Islands. The disturbance is forecast to become Tropical Storm Fred.
The system is currently located just 40 miles east-southeast of Dominica and has 35 miles per hour maximum sustained winds. It is presenting moving west-northwest at 16 miles per hour.
Below are the current warnings and watches in effect:
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for…
- Puerto Rico, including Culebra and Vieques
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Dominican Republic on the south coast from Punta Palenque eastward and on the north coast from Cabo Frances Viejo eastward
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for…
- Martinique and Guadeloupe
- Dominica
- Saba and St. Eustatius
- Dominican Republic on the north coast from Cabo Frances Viejo to the Dominican Republic/Haiti border.
- Haiti from the northern border with the Dominican Republic to Gonaives
The NHC said it is monitoring a second system in the tropics, which will continue to produce showers and thunderstorms about several hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles. The system has a low 20% chance of developing into a tropical depression or storm over the next five days.
The tropics are expected to heat up over the next few weeks as we near Sept. 10, the statistical peak of hurricane season. On average, more than 60 percent of all tropical systems form in August or September.