Bret to remain a tropical storm in Atlantic, National Hurricane Center says
MIAMI - As of Tuesday afternoon, Bret remains a low-end tropical storm with 40 mph sustained winds over the central Atlantic.
Bret will continue to track westward for the next couple of days, where abnormally warm water temperatures over the central Atlantic will allow for additional strengthening. On the forecast track, the center of Bret could move across portions of the Lesser Antilles Thursday afternoon through Thursday night as a tropical storm.
Tropical storm watches may be required for some islands later today or tonight.
From there, a weakening trend is set to begin Friday into the weekend.
Dry air and wind shear over the Caribbean will pose major hurdles for Bret and may cause it to dissipate completely into an open tropical wave by late in the weekend.
Interests in the Lesser Antilles, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico should be monitoring Bret closely.
Bret isn't the only system the CBS Miami NEXT Weather team is keeping an eye on.
A wave in the eastern Atlantic has a higher chance of development. The National Hurricane Center says it now has a 70% chance, in the next 48 hours, of becoming our next tropical depression as it moves to the west at 10 to 15 mph.
By NEXT Weather Meteorologist KC Sherman