Fred Now a Tropical Depression, Expected to Strengthen Again

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - Fred weakened to a Tropical Depression last night while interacting with the Dominican Republic and Haiti. As of this afternoon, Fred is still a Tropical Depression with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.

It is anticipated that Fred will re-strengthen to a Tropical Storm again by Friday night while it stays over water and skirts the northern coast of Cuba. After skirting the Northern Cuban Coast, it will move towards the Florida Keys and will likely be a Tropical Storm while moving over the Keys.

Additional strengthening is likely as it moves over the warm surface of the Gulf of Mexico ahead of additional interaction with the Florida coast. The exact track of Fred is still unknown due to uncertainty of exact location and strength over the coming days.

We will continue to learn more as we get better data in to fine-tune this exact track forecast. For now, it looks like it could make landfall as a strong tropical storm from anywhere along the Alabama Gulf Coast to the Big Bend of Florida. Strengthening to low-end hurricane strength is not out the question, but it is still too early to know if this will happen.

Locally, we will not know what exactly to expect for a few more days, but this is something we will need to watch closely - especially over the weekend. We could see enhanced shower and storm activity as early as Sunday, but the main timeframe for us in the valley will be Monday-Tuesday. As of now, it looks like we could see a surge of deep tropical moisture, rainy conditions, and possibly some periods of gusty winds.

This forecast can and likely will change between now and the beginning of the next work week, as is always the case with tropical systems. Stay with us here at Storm Team 9 for the latest forecast and developments as we track Fred.

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