MIDWAY, Fla. (WTXL) -- Ernesto became a full-fledged tropical storm late Thursday afternoon, but it will begin its transition into a general low-pressure cyclone in the next day or two as it moves northeast into the much-colder North Atlantic environment.
A tropical wave a few hundred miles of the Lesser Antilles will have modest opportunities for further organization in the next couple of days before reaching a zone of faster upper-level winds in the Caribbean. Those upper winds should inhibit strengthening efforts early next week. While not a guarantee that the upper flow will destroy the system, it should be effective in keeping it from rapidly intensifying, as long as the upper winds persist.
The next name on the Atlantic basin list this season is Florence.
