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Fiona, the sixth named storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, is located about 135 miles southeast of St. Croix at around midday on Saturday, Sept. 17, the National Hurricane Center said.
If it strengthens to hurricane status, it would be only the third of the season.
A westward to northwestward movement is expected with a decrease in the movement speed through Sunday evening, Sept. 18.
A northwest turn is then anticipated for early next week, the center said.
On the forecasted track, the center of Fiona is expected to move near the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico today through Sunday, and approach the southern or eastern coast of the Dominican Republic on Sunday evening and Monday, Sept. 19.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 60 mph with stronger gusts. Tropical storm-force winds span up to 125 miles from the center.
The projected track and timing for Fiona through Thursday, Sept. 22 is shown in the first image above.
Fiona's projected track through next weekend is shown in the second image above.
"Even if Fiona never touches US soil and stays well offshore, the action of strong winds over the ocean will cause waves to form and extend outward hundreds of miles in the form of large swells," according to AccuWeather.com. "As these swells reach the coastal waters of the eastern US by next weekend, the surf can become dangerous for swimmers with the potential for frequent and strong rip currents."
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