MIAMI – The remnants of Tropical Depression Fred is producing heavy rain across Cuba and the Florida Keys on Saturday morning. It is expected to pass west of the lower Keys on Saturday and move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico Saturday night and Sunday, where it is expected to re-develop into a stronger storm.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Grace formed Saturday morning, becoming the seventh named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. It has a similar forecast track to Fred, eventually forecast to move toward Florida. (More on Tropical Storm Grace lower in this story.)
At 5 p.m. Saturday, Fred’s remnants were 150 miles west-northwest of Havana, Cuba and was moving west-northwest at 13 mph with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.
While the system has moved west, it is still forecasted to be a stormy Saturday in South Florida, with the region — including Miami-Dade and Broward counties — under a flood watch until Sunday as heavy rain is forecasted.
A tornado or two may be possible starting Saturday afternoon across portions of central and southern Florida.
“While we will still get strong rain bands to move through at times, the rainfall forecast has come down a bit,” Local 10 News meteorologist Brandon Orr said of the Saturday forecast in South Florida. “2-4 inches is still expected for some, which can cause flooding. Some storms could be strong with waterspouts or a brief tornado.
“Some heavy downpours will continue into Sunday, especially early in the day, but there will be plenty of dry breaks.”
The National Hurricane Center discontinued a tropical storm warning that had been in effect for the middle and upper Florida Keys and a tropical storm watch along the west coast of Florida.
- Rainfall forecast: Through Monday, 3 to 5 inches of rain with local amounts of 8 inches is anticipated across the Keys and southern Florida. Across the Florida Big Bend and Panhandle, 3 to 7 inches with isolated maximum totals of 10 inches are expected. Heavy rainfall could lead to areal, urban, and small stream flooding impacts, and cause new minor flooding across the western Florida Peninsula and exacerbate ongoing minor to isolated moderate flooding in northern Florida.
- Wind: Tropical storm conditions are expected in portions of the warning area across the Florida Keys on Saturday
- Surf: Swells generated by Fred are expected to spread across the Florida Keys later Saturday morning and reach the coast of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle on Monday.
Tropical Storm Grace
The other disturbance tracked by the National Hurricane Center strengthened into Tropical Storm Grace early Saturday morning and is expected to reach the Lesser Antilles by Saturday night.
At 5 p.m., it was 55 miles east-southeast of the Guadeloupe and moving west at 26 mph with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.
“A motion toward the west-northwest with a gradual decrease in forward speed is expected during the next several days,” the Hurricane Center said in its 2 p.m. advisory. “On the forecast track, the center of Grace is expected to move over the Leeward Islands tonight, near the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Sunday, near or over the Dominican Republic Sunday night and Monday, and then near or over Haiti Monday night.”
The current forecast path has Grace approaching South Florida on Wednesday or Thursday.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for:
- Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Montserrat
- Saba and Sint Eustatius
- Sint Maarten
- St. Martin and St. Barthelemy
- British Virgin Islands
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Puerto Rico, including Vieques and Culebra
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for:
- South coast of the Dominican Republic from Punta Caucedo to Cabo Engano
- North coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Frances Viejo to Cabo Engano
A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.
A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, generally within 48 hours.
More on weather
For the latest South Florida radar and forecast information, visit the Local 10 News Weather Authority page.
To make sure you’re prepared, download the Local 10 Hurricane Survival Guide.