Date added: Tuesday September 5, 2006: 1130pm EST

TS Florence starts to strengthen

Could be a hurricane by Thursday night

It's heavy weather time in the tropics

By HurricaneNow.com
Correspondent Rob Hess

Florence is 6th named storm of season

Tropical Storm Florence is now less than 900 miles east of the island group that includes Antigua and Barbuda, St. Martin, Anguilla and the nearby US and British Virgin Islands. Maximum sustained winds are building at 45 MPH with higher gusts. We've been watching this storm grow in size over several hours Tuesday. Though forecasters are still not sure where the center is, they now expect Florence will reach hurricane force Thursday evening, about 12 hours earlier than the last forecast.

Meanwhile, there is plenty of tropical weather activity in the region, including a tropical wave near the Virgin Islands, another tropical wave that is bringing thunderstorms to Jamaica and eastern Cuba, and heavy weather all day Tuesday over Florida. This is what residents of these areas expect this time of year.

Another Storm About to Form

This is the time of the season when we see more of the "Cape Verde" storms, those disturbances that form in the warm waters of the late summer off the coast of Africa near the Cape Verde Islands. These storms often have a period of days to strengthen and become better organized as they make the trek across the tropical waters of the Atlantic. Another "Cape Verde" tropical wave is beginning to form, about 800 miles east and slightly south of TS Florence's current location. Watch for this one to become a tropical depression in the next day or two.