Just one day after a storm system in the Atlantic was upgraded to Tropical Storm Dorian, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced that in the waters of the Pacific, a tropical depression has strengthened into Tropical Storm Flossie Thursday morning and is reportedly headed on a path to Hawaii.
As of the most recent NHC update at 2:00 a.m. PST, Tropical Storm Flossie was located approximately 1,045 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California.
The storm is currently traveling west-northwest at approximately 15 mph. This general motion is expected to continue over the next 48 hours with an increase in forward speed forecasted.
Maximum sustained winds are blowing at 40 mph with tropical storm force winds extending outward up to 35 miles. A slow strengthening of this storm system is expected to occur over the next 24 to 48 hours.
According to a report from AccuWeather.com, Flossie will remain on a path to Hawaii through next week.
Though the storm is more than 1,000 miles away from land, that distance will shrink over the coming week as the storm remains on its projected west-northwest path toward Hawaii.
Flossie is expected to reach the Hawaiian Islands by Tuesday. However, forecasters say that after becoming a stronger tropical storm through Friday, Flossie is expected to weaken into a tropical rainstorm by the time it reaches its Hawaiian destination next week.
Enhanced shower activity will spread from east to west across the islands beginning on Monday and lasting through Wednesday. While the storm itself is not expected to bring dangerous weather to Hawaii, it will kick up the surf on the Hawaiian shores and that may cause hazards for swimmers and surfers.
As Flossie churns through the Pacific, Tropical Storm Dorian is strengthening slightly over the open tropical Atlantic, according to the most recent advisory from the NHC, which was issued at 5:00 a.m. AST on Thursday.
Dorian is now located about 700 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands. The storm is moving to the west-northwest near 17 mph and a gradual turn toward the west is expected to happen over the next few days.
Maximum sustained winds for this storm are now near 60 mph. The NHC will continue to keep an eye on the system, keeping in mind that if winds reach 74 mph Dorian will officially become a hurricane.
With winds averaging 60 mph, higher gusts are still being reported. Tropical storm force winds are extending outward up to 60 miles. For the time being, or at least through the next 48 hours, little change in the strength of the storm is expected.
In terms of the possible paths that Dorian could take as the storm moves closer to land, there are three possible scenarios, according to AccuWeather.com.
In the first scenario, a pocket of high pressure near Bermuda could take Dorian through the Atlantic to travel up the east coast of the United States.
The second scenario would take Dorian out of the "right turn lane" and push the storm on a west-northwesterly path where it would come in contact with the northern shores of Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Cuba.
In the final scenario, Dorian would eventually reach the southeastern United States and bring with it tremendous rainfall beginning a little over a week from now, which would be around the first weekend of August.
Forecasters warn that on top of the potential fringe-effect in the Lesser and Greater Antilles, residents in the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos should keep their eye on this storm's path and strength. These areas are reportedly at a high risk for the storm to pass close by at some point next week.
As these storm systems continue to develop and updated public advisories are issued, we will be monitoring the situation and keeping you up to date on the latest developments. Stay tuned.
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