South Florida Sun Sentinel By Keven Lerner and David Fleshler Aug 13, 2021
A tropical storm warning went up for the Florida Keys Friday, as Tropical Depression Fred skimmed the northern coast of Cuba on its way to open water, the National Hurricane Center said Friday morning.
Fred’s winds remained 35 mph, below the threshold for a tropical storm, the hurricane center said in its 8 a.m. update. But it’s expected to regain tropical storm strength later today, with winds of 40 mph, and reach a maximum wind speed of 50 mph by Sunday as it moves up the Gulf of Mexico.
The warning, which means tropical storm conditions are expected within 36 hours, covers Key Largo to the Dry Tortugas and Florida Bay. A tropical storm watch, which means tropical storm conditions are possible within 48 hours, covers the southwest coast of Florida from Englewood, just south of Sarasota, through the Keys.
Tropical storm conditions could start Friday night and go into Saturday.
At 8 a.m., Fred was 315 miles east-southeast of Key West with maximum sustained winds at 35 mph. It was moving west-northwest at 10 mph.
The map of possible paths for the storm’s center moved South Florida outside the cone of concern, with the storm now expected to head up Florida’s Gulf coast. But South Florida could still feel the effects of high winds and heavy rain, with the region at risk of flooding Saturday.
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https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/fl-ne-tropical-storm-fred-florida-gulf-friday-20210813-673koz74ijaqljlb4t4pid23pi-story.html