Aug. 25, 2004 – Tropical Depression 6 became Tropical Storm Frances at the 5 p.m. update on Wednesday, but forecasters expressed a little more confidence than they had on Wednesday morning that the weather system will turn toward the north and bypass the Virgin Islands.
"But we have to watch out, because it's that time of the year," Ernesto Morales, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Juan, said.
He said the territory could get some gusty winds and heavy seas when the storm passes to the northeast of the Virgin Islands early next week.
It's premature for Virgin Islanders to breathe a sigh of relief, however. Morales pointed out that there's another wave out in the Atlantic right behind Tropical Storm Frances and still another one just coming off the west coast of Africa.
Forecasters expect Tropical Storm Frances to reach hurricane strength.
At 5 p.m. Wednesday, the system was centered at 11.6 degrees north latitude and 40.5 degrees west longitude, or about 1,420 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. It was moving west at 17 mph with sustained winds of 40 mph and tropical storm-force winds extending out 45 miles from the center. The pressure stood at 1005 millibars, or 29.67 inches.
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