Tropical Storm Fred Hits Dominican Republic, Aims at Florida

(Bloomberg) -- Tropical Storm Fred, the sixth named Atlantic storm of the year, is bringing heavy showers and high winds to the Dominican Republic before moving west to threaten Cuba and Florida.

The system, which formed Tuesday night, will dump up to eight inches (20 centimeters) of rain on the Dominican Republic Wednesday, potentially causing flash floods. It was 25 miles (40 kilometers) south-southeast of Santo Domingo at 11 a.m. local time with sustained winds of 45 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said. Storm watches and warnings extend to the southern Bahamas and Cuba.

On its current path, Fred’s winds may reach southern Florida by Friday morning as it enters the eastern Gulf of Mexico. It will graze the state’s entire west coast before making landfall on the panhandle on Sunday, according to Jim Rouiller, lead meteorologist at the Energy Weather Group.

That track will mirror Elsa, which made landfall on the state’s northern Gulf Coast in early July after it was downgraded to a tropical storm from hurricane.

Fred is unlikely to reach hurricane-strength, Rouiller said. The storm will weaken as it passes over the mountains of Hispaniola, and while the warm waters off Florida could give it a boost, that may be countered by low pressure in the Gulf that will increase wind shear. Fred will pose little threat to the oil-production areas of the Gulf.

Forecasters are expecting an active hurricane season, with as many as 21 storms. While Elsa, the most recent Atlantic storm, was more than a month ago, the period from August to October is typically busier than earlier months.

“We’re getting into the active part of the season,” Rouiller said. “It’s been so quiet. That will be changing.”

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