The beginning of what could become a tropical storm is moving from the Gulf of Mexico westward over the eastern area of the Atlantic ocean as of Friday morning.
Tropical Storm Erin- which has not yet fully formed into an official tropical system-reached wind speeds near 40 mph on Friday, and AccuWeather forecasts the gusts will only strengthen over the weekend.
Earlier in the week, Erin's development around the Caribbean and Gulf region raised alarms for meteorologists. Now, they are confident that the center of the storm, (located around 430 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands) will move toward the Southeast area of the United States, bringing heavy rainfall into Saturday night. Central areas of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida could see up to four inches of rain. The storm's path has not yet been officially mapped out, but movement into the central U.S. Gulf Coast seems most likely.
Heavy winds might also hit the coastal areas along the Atlantic by the weekend.
But experts are still unsure as to whether or not the disturbance will have enough time to advance to a full tropical storm.
According to AccuWeather.com senior meteorologist Dan Kottlowski, there have been few indications that Tropical Storm Erin will reach that level. The expansive field of low pressure is still minor, and frost sea temperatures might hinder its development around Saturday.
"This suggests there is no sign that a low-level feature is forming yet," Kottlowski stated. A low-level feature allows such a tropical disturbance to intensify the storm.
If the storm comes to full fruition, it will be called Tropical Strom Fernand, and will be the sixth tropical storm named in the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season USA Today reported.
Follow the storm's path here.
