Tropical Storm Nate Forms Off Central America; Fla. in Track

That will change later today, the National Hurricane Center says, when Nate takes a more north-northwestward path and also moves at a faster speed.

Nate is now causing flooding and torrential rain over portions of Central America, especially Nicaragua, with sustained winds around 40 miles per hour.

Tropical Storm Nate has formed in the southwestern Caribbean, and it’s forecasted to strengthen into a hurricane that could impact the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Nicaragua could see up to 50cm (20in) of rain with an “isolated maximum” of 76cm (30in) possible – bringing potentially life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.

The “large shift to the west now brings risk of greater impacts to the region”, forecasters at the New Orleans/Baton Rouge office of the National Weather Service said Thursday morning. At this point, landfall is expected somewhere along the Florida Gulf Coast.

The USA and the Caribbean are still recovering from the destructive impact of Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria, which brought stormy conditions to the United Kingdom last weekend. While the storm was previously expected to strike near Florida’s “Big Bend”, numerous models shifted west late Wednesday and early Thursday morning.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA- Tropical Depression 16 remains unamed as of the 11 p.m.

It is expected to become Tropical Storm Nate, and tropical storm warnings have been issued for those areas. The system is expected to continue strengthening as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico on Friday and through the weekend.

Forecasts show that it will move over Central America and head to the open Gulf of Mexico, where it will likely strengthen further, before heading to the US mainland.