Tropical Storm Harvey forms in southern Atlantic

The tropical storm is moving briskly west around 18 miles per hour... and this motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days.

Harvey will likely remain a tropical storm while moving across the Caribbean Sea... then near Central America or the Yucatan Peninsula early next week.

Harvey is forecast to gradually gain modest strength, per the National Hurricane Center, but intensification may be limited by some vertical wind shear. The Lesser Antilles will be the first areas to be impacted over the next 24 hours.

Storms over open water and more than 48 hours away from a potential landfall will not be classified as PTCs.

The National Hurricane Center described environmental conditions as conducive to storm development and anticipated a tropical depression could form Thursday night.

An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter was expected to investigate the disturbance Thursday afternoon. The second disturbance has only about a 30% chance of developing into a tropical cyclone in the next five days.

Finally, out ahead of Harvey and the tropical disturbance, a fairly large tropical wave near Hispaniola is expected to approach Florida this weekend and perhaps reach the North Central Gulf of Mexico mid-next week. Harvey should move through the Windward Islands and into the eastern Caribbean Sea Friday.