Tropical Storm Erin has formed in the eastern Atlantic, southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. At the same time, another system is brewing in the Caribbean.
Erin's maximum sustained winds early today are near 40 mph with additional strengthening predicted during the next few days. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the southern Cape Verde Islands of Maio, Santiago, Fogo and Brava.
The storm is centered about 65 miles west-southwest of Brava and is moving west-northwest near 16 mph.
It's still too early to say whether Erin will approach Florida or elsewhere in the U.S.
The National Hurricane Center is also keep a close eye on an area of disturbed weather off the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. That system has a 70 percent chance of developing into a tropical storm - which would be named Fernand - during the next 48 hours.
The low pressure system is moving west northwest at 10 mph, with forecasters saying it should reach the Yucatan Peninsula later today and move over the southern Gulf of Mexico by tomorrow. Some computer models show it curving toward the Florida Panhandle sometime this weekend.
But forecasters say it could bring some rain and storms to South and Central Florida.
