SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – Satellite images show Erin still producing strong thunderstorms, with its center located just northeast of the thickest cloud cover. There has been little change since the last update, although recent data suggests the storm’s cloud bands are becoming slightly more organized. Wind speeds remain steady at about 52 miles per hour.
Conditions around Erin are favorable for gradual strengthening over the next day or so. After that, the storm is expected to move over warmer waters and encounter lighter upper-level winds, which could help it intensify more quickly between 24 and 48 hours from now. Forecast models agree that Erin is likely to become a major hurricane by around day three, and some even suggest it could be stronger than the current forecast predicts. Overall, Erin is expected to grow into a large and powerful hurricane over the southwestern Atlantic this weekend.
Erin is currently moving west at about 17 miles per hour, guided by high pressure to the north. Later tonight, it should begin turning slightly more toward the west-northwest and continue that general direction through the weekend. Early next week, a weakness in the high pressure may cause it to turn more toward the northwest or north-northwest…