ABC News(NEW YORK) — The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is less than two weeks away from when it officially begins on Sept. 10 and things are already active in the tropics.
Newly-formed Tropical Storm Erin off the Southeast coast is expected to bring rough surf to the East Coast beaches from the Carolinas to New England this Labor Day weekend. Otherwise, it is not expected to directly impact the East Coast as it moves north and then northeast away from the U.S.
Meanwhile, Dorian is maintaining winds of 60 mph as it moves towards Puerto Rico. The path has shifted significantly to the east, putting the worst of the storm on the eastern end of the island of Puerto Rico.
A Tropical Storm Warning is still in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, meaning these areas will see Tropical Storm conditions later Wednesday between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. EST.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) will keep a hurricane watch in effect for Puerto Rico in case the weather system becomes a hurricane. The biggest threat to Puerto Rico at this point is heavy rain that could cause life-threatening flash flooding later Wednesday and Wednesday night.
The latest path modeled by the NHC takes Dorian through the northern Bahamas and then possibly close to central or northern Florida by Sunday into Labor Day. The latest forecast makes Dorian a possible Category 2 hurricane with winds near 100 MPH as it approaches the Florida coast late this holiday weekend.
Elsewhere, a flash flood watch has been issued for the Northeast from Rhode Island into Maine as a cold front approaches the east coast bringing with it a fresh round of thunderstorms with heavy rain of up to 5 inches in some areas.
The heatwave will continue in the West as eight states are now under heat and fire alerts. Portland, Oregon reached a record high of 91 degrees Fahrenheit Tuesday and could be in the mid to upper 90s again Wednesday.
Red flag warnings will stretch from Washington all the way to Colorado for gusty erratic winds that could easily spread fire.
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