Hurricane Season 2013 Path, Maps: Tropical Storm Dorian Forms in Atlantic; Storm Projected Moving Up East Coast or Into Northern Caribbean

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced on Wednesday the arrival of the fourth storm of the 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Upgraded from a tropical depression Wednesday morning, Tropical Storm Dorian is moving westward over the open tropical Atlantic.

As of the most recent update from the NHC at 5:00 p.m. EST Wednesday, Dorian was located approximately 505 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands. The storm is moving toward the west-northwest at approximately 20 mph and this general motion is expected to continue over the next couple of days.

Maximum sustained winds are currently near 50 mph with higher gusts being reported. Tropical storm force winds are extending outwards up to 45 miles. Slight weakening is possible on Thursday, when Dorian is expected to travel into cooler waters.

AccuWeather.com reports that the projected path for Dorian for this weekend and into early next week will take the storm close to and possibly to the north of the Lesser Antilles.

Conditions on the Leeward Islands this weekend will depend upon the path and strength of the storm, though predictions put the possibility of windy squalls with heavy rain developing in the area on Sunday and into Monday, July 29 if Dorian tracks close by.

"Later this week, Dorian will move into a zone of cooler waters, which may cause the system to plateau or even weaken," said AccuWeather hurricane expert Dan Kottlowski.

The path Dorian takes next week will depend on the strength of the storm combined with other weather systems in the vicinity.

Forecasters say one scenario would have the area of high pressure near Bermuda pick Dorian up and send the storm travelling along the east coast of the United States. The alternative scenario would see Dorian continuing on a west-northwesterly path and coming into contact with the northern shores of Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Cuba.

"It is too early to say with confidence for next week where Dorian will track and what the strength will be," Kottlowski said.