The tropical depression we had been watching since yesterday strengthened into Tropical Storm Nate before 8 a.m. this morning, off the coast of Nicaragua. It’s going to make landfall there, cross Honduras and move into the Gulf of Mexico.
While the forecast track is better news for the state of Florida, it’s bad news for New Orleans and other areas along the northern Gulf of Mexico.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Tropical Storm Nate forms off the coast of Nicaragua, and is moving at 40 mph as of 8 a.m.
Nate is expected to give Nicaragua and Honduras a glancing blow and then move into the northwest Caribbean by Thursday night or Friday morning.
Once clear of land, the system is expected to strengthen.
Current long-range forecasts have the storm moving into the warm waters of the central Gulf of Mexico, possibly reaching hurricane strength. A turn to the northeast is anticipated, possibly making landfall somewhere between Louisiana and Florida's panhandle late weekend.