(RNN) - Tropical Storm Nate formed near the coast of Nicaragua on Thursday and is expected to impact the Gulf Coast this weekend.
It becomes the 16th named storm of the hurricane season. According to the National Hurricane Center's 8 a.m. ET advisory, it was located about 10 miles south of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, with 40 mph sustained winds and is moving northwest at about 8 mph.
On its forecasted track, the center of Nate should move across northeastern Nicaragua and eastern Honduras during the day and then over the northwestern Caribbean Sea Thursday night and Friday. The center is expected to approach the coast of the Yucatan peninsula late Friday.
The storm was a tropical depression by early Wednesday morning, per the NHC.
Current forecasts show Nate coming ashore near the Florida Panhandle.
The 2017 hurricane season is one of the worst on record, according to Business Insider.
