Erika an increasing threat to Florida and southeast coast

Tropical Storm Erika will likely undergo some weakening over the next couple of days as it moves over Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, but should regain its strength early next week as it moves over more favorable conditions between the Bahamas and Florida. Just how much Erika is disrupted/weakened by the islands will have an impact on it’s eventual track; a weaker storm will move more to the west, towards the Gulf; a strong storm will turn to the northwest towards the Florida and Georgia coasts, and the latter is what the National Hurricane Center appears to be forecasting at this point:

Folks along the southeast coast, from South Carolina to Florida will want to pay close attention to the forecast. The latest track brings the center of what should be Hurricane Erika very close to West Palm Beach, then tracking northward paralleling the east coast of Florida. The forecast models have waffled a bit over the last 48 hours, so this forecast is still very much subject to change.