Thibodaux Regional expands access to COVID testing
August 11, 2021
James Boudreaux
August 12, 2021
Fred has weakened into a tropical depression overnight. Its forecast track still has it slowly strengthening back to a tropical storm before making landfall in the Florida panhandle on Monday. Another tropical wave is making its way across the Atlantic, with a 60 percent chance of further development in the next five days. The next name on the list is Grace.
At 5 a.m. AST, the center of Tropical Depression Fred was located about 65 miles (105 km) south-southwest of Great Inagua Island and about 110 miles (175 km) east of Guantanamo, Cuba. Fred is moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph (26 km/h), and this motion with a decrease in forward speed is expected during the next couple of days, followed by a turn to the northwest. On the forecast track, Fred is expected to move across the southeastern Bahamas today, move along or just north of eastern and central Cuba later today and Friday, and be near the Florida Keys and south Florida on Saturday.
Maximum sustained winds remain near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast today, but slow strengthening is expected Friday and this weekend.
Elsewhere over the Atlantic basin on this Wednesday evening, a tropical wave is located over the central tropical Atlantic about 1600 miles east of the Lesser Antilles, and continues to produce disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Environmental conditions are expected to gradually become more conducive for development, and a tropical depression could form by early next week while the system moves generally westward at about 20 mph across the tropical Atlantic. It has a low (30 percent) chance of formation during the next 48 hours and a medium (60 percent) chance during the next five days. This system could reach portions of the Leeward Islands by late Saturday.
