ORLANDO, Fla. – A tropical wave labeled Invest 99L continues to be disorganized near Puerto Rico, although weather officials say it still has an 80 percent of developing into a stronger system as it treks toward Florida.
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Hurricane Hunters continue to make flights over the system every 12 hours to gather new data about the weather system, which could become a tropical depression or a tropical storm -- named Hermine -- by Saturday.
"It's had a lot of upper-level winds on top of it (Thursday) and some drier air working into it, which is why it can't get organized," News 6 meteorologist Troy Bridges said. "It's a big blob, but it will see a more favorable environment heading into Saturday."
Most computer models show it heading into the Bahamas over the weekend.
"After that, there's still some confusion," Bridges said. "Many models take it over to the Gulf of Mexico. Others take it up the western coast of Florida, and that could be an issue for Central Florida."
Elsewhere in the tropics
Hurricane Gaston has weakened to a tropical storm in the Atlantic.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the storm's maximum sustained winds Thursday are near 70 mph (110 kph) with a turn toward the west-northwest and a decrease in forward speed expected on Saturday.
The hurricane is centered about 1,160 miles (1,865 kilometers) east-northeast of the Leeward Islands and is moving northwest near 17 mph (28 kph).
Central Florida forecast
Rain chances will be on and off again Thursday in the Orlando area.
"There's a 40 percent coverage of showers and storms," Bridges said. "Most of the rain will be light to moderate, but we can't rule out a couple of stronger storms late in the day."
Afternoon high temperatures will be near 91 degrees, which is the average high for this time of year.
"Rain chances continue at 40 percent Friday but increased to 50 percent Saturday and Sunday," Bridges said. "Rain chances for the end of the weekend and the start of next week depend on what happens with the tropical wave."
Watch News 6 for more on this story.