South Florida now in cone as Tropical Depression 9 has favorable environment for strengthening

MIAMI – South Florida is now in the forecast cone as meteorologists continue to monitor Tropical Depression Nine, which is northwest of Trinidad and Tobago and could soon become Hurricane Hermine.

The system will be in a favorable environment for strengthening as it moves through the southern Caribbean.

The storm can then strengthen into a hurricane as it heads through the western Caribbean where lower shear and very warm sea-surface temperatures are in place.

There is the potential for significant impacts anywhere from Central America to Jamaica and Cuba, depending on the exact track and intensity.

While South Florida is currently at the tail end of the cone, Local 10 meteorologist Brandon Orr says it’s still too far out to determine whether the system will in fact head to South Florida or whether it would veer left toward the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Regardless, he says those in South Florida should review their hurricane plans, keep an eye out for updates and if the storm does head our way, the timeframe it would be affecting the area could be from Monday night to as late as Wednesday.

Hurricane Fiona, meanwhile, remains a major hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale and is moving northward away from the Bahamas.

Fiona is expected to pass far enough to the west of Bermuda overnight such that the strongest winds and heaviest rainfall are forecast to miss the islands, although it is still expected to bring wind gusts of 60-80 mph and 2-4 inches of rain.

Impacts from Fiona to Atlantic Canada are expected to be much more significant from Friday into Saturday, with 4-8 inches of rain falling in certain areas, and wind gusts of 80-100 mph for some.

This will likely lead to areas of flooding and widespread power outages that could last an extended period of time.

In addition, Tropical Storm Gaston is churning across open waters in the north-central Atlantic. Gaston is expected to near the westernmost Azores late this week and can bring some rain and gusty winds, but impacts should be minor overall.

Gaston is anticipated to dissipate across the northern Atlantic without bringing additional impacts to land.

As far as additional development, a tropical depression could form off the west coast of Africa later this week or this weekend. It could bring rain and wind to the Cabo Verde Islands.