The NBC2 First Alert Hurricane Tracking team is monitoring the movement of Tropical Storm Francine in the western Gulf of Mexico.
As of 5 a.m. Tuesday, Francine has winds of 65 mph and a forward motion of 5 mph toward the north-northwest.
Francine's center is being pegged approximately 415 miles south-southwest of Cameron, Louisiana.
The forecast cone released by the National Hurricane Center points to the storm strengthening into a hurricane and making landfall in Louisiana by the middle of the week.
A hurricane warning is active for most of the southwest coast of Louisiana, with a hurricane watch active along the southeast coast.
Storm surge will become a high concern as Francine approaches the northern Gulf coast.
Early storm surge projections show the potential of up to 10 feet of surge in some areas. Where the greatest amount ends up is highly dependent on where the center of the storm tracks, something that cannot be determined at this time.
The storm is also expected to bring 4 to 8 inches of rain with isolated pockets receiving up to a foot of rain along the northwestern Gulf coast.
Despite Francine's location in the Gulf of Mexico, because of its anticipated movement Southwest Florida is not expected to see any direct impacts on our weather. All of the showers and storms we see this week will be fueled by our local sea breezes, not Tropical Storm Francine.
Elsewhere in the tropics, there are two other areas to watch that are being highlighted by the National Hurricane Center.
Though both of these waves are moving westward, it's too early to tell where they will eventually track.
Early forecast model guidance though shows that through the middle of this week the first of these two waves will continue in a west-northwest path.
The stretch of September we're now in marks the climatological peak of hurricane season. Though there are no immediate threats to our local community, we'll have a lot to watch in the coming days as Francine moves across the Gulf of Mexico and the two waves being watched move across the ocean.
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