MIDWAY, Fla. (WTXL) -- Tropical Storm Ida is still wandering in the open ocean waters of the Atlantic, nearly a thousand miles from the Leeward Islands. Its future course of movement is difficult to pinpoint, as Ida is located in a zone of weak steering currents, causing it to move very little in the next few days. Eventually, the system will track off to the north-northwest, a path that keeps it away from any land masses. Ida will also battle higher wind speeds aloft in the near term, which are forecast to weaken as it starts its more rapid movement. The extended forecast keeps Ida in the tropical storm level.
A disturbance off the Outer Banks of North Carolina has limited chance to develop further in the next couple of days. The system should remain offshore in the western Atlantic.
Long-range indications show tropical moisture rising from the southern Gulf of Mexico, and some persistent signs of a broad low-pressure system accompanying it. It is too early to grasp onto solid trends of organized tropical developments with the feature, but it is a point of interest we'll continue to analyze in the coming days.