Orlando, and indeed most of Florida, is in the “cone of uncertainty” for an approaching weather system that could strengthen into a named tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The system, Potential Tropical Cyclone 6, is moving toward the Caribbean — with a tropical storm warning in effect for Puerto Rico already — and may impact South Florida as soon as the start of the weekend, before possibly moving into the vicinity of the Tampa Bay area.
The storm could strengthen into Tropical Storm Fred by the weekend as it continues along is current path, reports WUSF. This would make Fred the sixth named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season.
At this early stage there are factors at play that could either weaken the storm — wind shear effects if it passes over the Hispaniola island — or strengthen it — if it travels through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico — as it continues towards Florida.
Current forecast models strongly suggest increased chance of rain in portions of Florida through the weekend, but it is, as of this writing, too soon to predict the probable course or wind strength of the storm.
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This article appears in Aug 4-10, 2021.