Hurricane Gaston weakens to tropical storm in the Atlantic

Invest 99L was traveling west-northwest about 10 miles per hour and could cross Florida late Sunday or Monday and enter the Gulf as a tropical wave, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Tropical Storm Lester formed on 25 August, becoming the 12 tropical storm of the Eastern Pacific season. “A turn toward the west-northwest is forecast Friday night”, the NHC said in a statement.

It was located 950 miles west-southwest of the Mexican peninsula of Baja California, and moving westward at five miles per hour. There is more doubt now, though, with the National Hurricane Center forecasting a 60% chance for development as opposed to an 80% chance from Wednesday.

Also in the Atlantic, all eyes are on a tropical wave that is expected to head in the general direction of Florida by this weekend. This region has a 90% chance of development over the next 5 days and could become a tropical depression over the weekend.

Another area of low pressure in the central Bahamas is predicted to provide rain over southern Florida and the Florida Keys over the weekend as it moves westward at 10 miles per hour.

Heavy rain was expected to fall from Louisiana to southeastern Texas for the next few days.

Gaston is forecast to build strength over the next two days as it travels over warmer water and the southwesterly wind shear relaxes its hold on the storm.

“There’s really no change in the disturbance overnight”, said Meteorologist Alek Krautmann of the National Weather Service in New Orleans.

The storm then could track toward the Gulf Coast, AccuWeather said. Earlier this week it had been given a high chance of developing into a tropical depression or even Tropical Storm Hermine, but instead it has struggled to organize.

“Heavy rains and gusty winds could begin over the weekend and continue through early next week”, the Miami-based Hurricane Center said in an advisory issued early Friday.