Tracking the Tropics: Tropical Storm Fred nears Dominican Republic with Florida in forecast path

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Tropical Storm Fred, the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, is nearing the Dominican Republic with tropical storm warnings in effect for much of Hispaniola Wednesday morning.

At 5 a.m. ET, the storm was centered about 115 miles east-southeast of Santo Domingo with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. It was moving west-northwest at 16 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.

Fred was expected to be near or over Hispaniola late Wednesday and to move near the Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas on Thursday.

It will likely remain a tropical storm as it moves north into the Gulf of Mexico and passes by Tampa Bay late Saturday and Sunday, according to the latest forecast track. The National Weather Service said Monday that South Florida could see “widespread and heavy rain” late this week and over the weekend.

Fred is forecast to dump 2 to 4 inches on Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic with some areas seeing isolated amounts of 6 inches and forecasters warning the heavy rain could lead to dangerous flooding and mudslides. Haiti, the Turks and Caicos, eastern Bahamas and eastern Cuba could see 1 to 3 inches of rain with some areas seeing isolated amounts of 5 inches.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for:

• Dominican Republic on the south coast from Punta Palenque
  eastward and on the north coast from the Dominican
  Republic/Haiti border eastward

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for:

• Haiti from the northern border with the Dominican Republic to
  Gonaives
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• Southeastern Bahamas