Erika Update...

Tropical Storm Erika is currently situated along the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic slightly off the coast to the south of these countries. She is moving west-northwest at 21mph currently. Her peak sustained winds are around 45mph, making her a weak tropical storm.


The reasoning behind her struggle to strengthen is due to unfavorable wind conditions in and around the storm. Wind shear is hostile to tropical systems, and there is plenty of shear in place in the environment where Erika is currently located.

Here is a map providing a visual of where Erika is currently located and why she is not able to maintain her strength and organization. However, she is expected to move northwest and into the warm and supportive waters between the Florida Keys and Cuba. Once she moves off of Cuba by Sunday, she is expected to gain strength and evolve into a weak hurricane before eventually making landfall on the western coast of Central Florida.

However, despite the current track forecast, it appears as though she wants to continue moving westward before turning north. For that reason, the current forecast track will likely be moved slightly westward. This means Florida landfall may not happen, and if it does, it would be in the Panhandle.

Regardless, expect landfall somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico in all likelihood. Erika's strength will likely be a weak hurricane, so this storm is definitely something to monitor. We will provide updates as she evolves over the next few days.