Hurricane Gaston Now a Category 3 Storm; Tropical Depression Aims for Florida; Outer Banks' Tropical Storm Warning Lifted

TAMPA BAY, FL — Hurricane Gaston reclaimed major storm status late Tuesday night as two depressions in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico remained on track to become tropical storms. As of Tuesday evening a fourth storm, a tropical disturbance off the coast of Africa, was also under watch by the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Gaston was located about 810 miles east of Bermuda as of 11 p.m. Tuesday. The storm was moving east-northeast at 10 mph. With maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, Gaston was classified as a Category 3 hurricane as of 11 p.m. It is the first major storm of the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

Hurricane center forecasters anticipate Gaston will continue on a track that will bring it into the open Atlantic over the next few days. The storm is expected to downgrade as it continues on its easterly track.

The storm that has Florida’s attention is Tropical Depression Nine. As of Tuesday at 11 p.m, the storm was located about 410 miles south-southwest of Apalachicola. It was moving north-northwest at 2 mph and packing maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.

The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch for Anclote River to Indian Pass Tuesday evening. A tropical storm watch is in effect for the area west of Indian Pass to the Walton/Bay county line. Watches mean that hurricane or tropical storm conditions are possible within 48 hours.

The depression is expected to gain tropical storm status by sometime early Wednesday. It is expected to make landfall along the west coast of Florida or near the Panhandle on Thursday evening. Once it cuts across the Sunshine State, the storm is expected to pass through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina on Friday before heading into the Atlantic.

Forecasters at the National Weather Service’s Ruskin office warned residents of the entire Tampa Bay area to keep a close watch on this storm as it develops and nears Florida’s west coast.

“In addition to the heavy rain and flooding threat, increased wind shear within the atmosphere will bring an increased risk of tornadoes during late Wednesday through Thursday,” forecasters wrote in Tuesday morning’s Hazardous Weather Outlook report for Tampa Bay. “The increasing south to southwest wind flow will also support an increasing storm surge threat along the coast.”

The storm is anticipated to bring 4 to 6 inches of rain to interior counties and between 6 to 10 inches along the coastal area from Sarasota north to Cedar Key.

Tropical Depression Eight is also under watch near the coast of North Carolina. That storm was located about 70 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras as of Tuesday's 11 p.m. hurricane center report. The depression was moving northeast at 5 mph and had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.

As of Tuesday evening, forecasters at the hurricane center expected the depression to reach tropical storm status sometime on Wednesday. Tropical storm warning issued for the Outer Banks area had been canceled as of 8 p.m., the hurricane center said.

The storm is now expected to take an easterly path into the open Atlantic.

Should the two depressions reach tropical storm status as expected, they will earn the names Hermine and Ian.

Meanwhile, a disturbance near Texas has dissipated, but a new one has moved off the coast of Africa. That weak area of low pressure associated with a tropical wave was located near the Cabo Verde Islands as of Tuesday evening. Forecasters say the storm, which is moving on a westerly path at 15 to 20 mph, has a 40 percent chance of developing more over the next five days.

"Environmental conditions are expected to become a little more favorable for some gradual development of this system late this week," the hurricane center wrote in its Tropical Weather Outlook report Tuesday afternoon.

Whether it will pose a threat for Florida remains unknown at this time.

The Atlantic Hurricane Season peaks each year between mid-August and mid-October. The period is described as the “season within the season” by forecasters. This eight-week period “is often the most active and dangerous time for tropical cyclone activity,” NOAA explained on its website.

The eight-week period is historically responsible for major spikes in tropical weather activity, NOAA said. In fact, it accounts for about 78 percent of all tropical storm days on record. It is also the period when 87 percent of the Category 1 and 2 hurricane days on record occurred. In addition, this period is responsible for “a whopping 96 percent of the major (Category 3, 4 and 5) hurricane days.”

As hurricane season’s peak continues, emergency management officials urge residents in coastal areas to be prepared.

To find out more about hurricane season and storm preparation in the Tampa Bay area, read these related Patch stories:

• Hurricane Season 2016: Where To Find Local Information
• 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast Released
• Hurricane Season: How to Prepare
• 2016 Hurricane Names: Is Yours On the List?
• Tampa Bay 'Ripe for Disaster,' Hurricane Experts Say

To keep up with storm activity as the season develops, bookmark the National Hurricane Center’s website and keep an eye on your hometown Patch site for local information.

Images courtesy of the National Hurricane Center