ORLANDO, Fla. – Tropical Storm Jerry is making its closest approach to the northern Leeward Islands early Thursday before veering north by the weekend.
While Jerry is still battling wind shear that’s keeping it somewhat disorganized, it still have an opportunity to strengthen into a hurricane in the next few days.
Most of the heavy rain and strongest winds are confined to the storm’s eastern half, meaning the northern Leeward Islands should avoid the worst of the winds, though some tropical-storm-force gusts remain possible later Thursday.
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Jerry is expected to pass just northeast of the northern Leeward Islands Thursday night before turning north by late Friday, staying well out to sea as it lifts between the subtropical ridge and an upper-level trough.
Latest forecasts keep the system well southeast of Bermuda through early next week, so no direct threat to the island is expected right now.
Watching North Atlantic
Elsewhere in the Atlantic, a non-tropical low-pressure system several hundred miles west-northwest of the Azores is producing gale-force winds and limited shower activity.
The National Hurricane Center is giving this area only a 10% chance of becoming a subtropical or tropical system before moving into cooler waters and stronger wind shear in the next couple of days.
The next named storm will be called Karen.
Hurricane season runs through November.