TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) -- The pesky tropical disturbance tracked for nearly a week has finally gathered enough organization and strength to become the Atlantic hurricane season's third tropical storm Sunday morning.
Tropical Storm Cristobal (pronounced "krees-TOH-bahl" according to World Meteorological Organization guidelines) has peak winds of 45 mph and is moving northwest at 7 mph. A series of tropical storm warnings is in effect for many islands of the Bahamas, and may be expanded within the next 24 hours. No related warnings or watches exist for the U.S. mainland.
With some amount of uncertainty, the general forecast thought takes Cristobal mainly to the northwest, and then more northerly, in the next few days. This would take the storm more into the western Atlantic and offshore of the Florida east coast. Some increase in surf is possible along the eastern seaboard early this week. Gradual strengthening into a hurricane is predicted later this week.
With this in mind, there is no direct impact anticipated for the Florida Big Bend region. The Storm Team will continue to monitor the progress of Cristobal in the days ahead.
