Tropical Storm Bret is spinning across the central tropical Atlantic, currently forecast to strengthen into a hurricane by late Wednesday.
As of Tuesday morning, Tropical Storm Bret was located in the central tropical Atlantic, more than 1,000 miles east of the southern Windward Islands.
Tropical Storm Bret will continue moving westward for the next several days. It is expected to approach the Caribbean islands by the end of the workweek.
Land impacts from Tropical Storm Bret are expected to begin Thursday and last into Friday for portions of those islands, with wind gusts to hurricane-force (74-plus mph) possible, along with heavy rain and a dangerous storm surge.
Puerto Rico could feel the effects of Tropical Storm Bret over the weekend, primarily with rain, increased wave heights, rip currents and gusty winds as the storm passes to the south of the island.
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As of Tuesday morning, Tropical Storm Bret was moving westward at 15 to 20 mph. After Bret passes through the Caribbean islands, it will begin to encounter a hostile environment and is expected to weaken, the FOX Forecast Center said.
The map below shows the probability of tropical-storm-force winds along the path of Bret.
A tropical storm is a tropical cyclone that has maximum sustained winds between 39 and 73 mph. Once the winds reach at least 74 mph, the system is classified as a hurricane, which could happen as soon as Wednesday evening.
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The Hurricane Hunters are scheduled to begin investigating Tropical Storm Bret on Wednesday afternoon. The reconnaissance flights will continue as needed until Bret is no longer a threat to land.
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Bret was the farthest east a tropical storm developed in the month of June in the so-called main development region of the Atlantic Ocean, which is roughly from Central America east to the coast of Africa.