Update
August 11, 11 a.m.;
As of 11 a.m., Invest 97L has been upgraded to Tropical Storm Erin.
The system is moving west at 20 mph and is expected to become a category 1 hurricane by Wednesday and continue to strengthen to a category 3 hurricane by Saturday.
Tropical Storm Erin is currently producing maximum winds of 45 mph.
As of right now, it is way too early to tell the exact path and strength that Tropical Storm Erin will reach, but we will continue to monitor it.
Original
A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa over the weekend and was quickly tagged as Invest 97L. What this means is the National Hurricane Center is investigating the system; it is not a named storm yet.
As of 8 a.m. Monday, Invest 97 L has a 90% chance of development over the next 48 hours and the next 7 days.
The system started off as a cluster of thunderstorms, but is now becoming more organized and is likely to form into a tropical depression later today or Tuesday as it is heading into favorable conditions for development.
The system is steadily moving westward and is expected to continue to do so over the next few days.
As of right now, long term models have the system continuing to move west and eventually turning north, avoiding any interaction with the United States.
Being that this system just came off the coast of Africa, it is too early to tell the exact path and strength, so it is not a concern to us at this time.
If named, the next name on the list is Erin.
We will continue to keep you updated both on air and online!
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.