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Rare summer cold front could steer Tropical Storm Ernesto away from Florida

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Updated  August 13, 2024 6:51am EDT
Hurricanes
FOX 35 Orlando

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ORLANDO, Fla. - The FOX 35 Storm Team is tracking a rare summer cold front that could steer Tropical Storm Ernesto away from Florida.

Although it won't feel much cooler across the Sunshine State, Meteorologist Brooks Garner said the front will arrive this weekend, introducing a drier air mass and diverting Ernesto more than 800 miles to the east of Florida.

"While we won't have any direct impact here, we will see our swells building on the Atlantic coast, bringing a dangerous threat for rip currents midweek through the weekend," Garner said. "Ernesto will be picked up by a trough to the north in a pattern more typical of October than mid-August, steering the tropical system well east of Florida as it curves into the open Atlantic," he added.

Forecasters said the storm will move across parts of the Leeward Islands on Tuesday morning and near or over the U.S., British Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico by Tuesday evening. Tropical Storm Ernesto is then expected to turn north over the western Atlantic. 

It is forecast to bring heavy rainfall in those areas, which could result in flash flooding and mudslides, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Ernesto is expected to strengthen over the next few days as it leaves the Caribbean. The NHC said in its forecast discussion that this area has conducive environmental conditions for development. It could intensify into a hurricane. 

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