Afternoon, early evening thunderstorms possible across Central Florida on Saturday

Tropical Storm Beryl forms in Atlantic Ocean

Tropical Storm Beryl has formed east of the Windward Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The National Hurricane Center expects it to strengthen into a hurricane over the next few days.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Looking ahead to the weekend, this classic summer-time pattern continues with highs in the low- to mid-90s and scattered to numerous afternoon and evening storms.

Afternoon storms are possible on Saturday afternoon into early evening. High will once again be in the 90s.

Tracking the Tropics

There are three areas to track, but only one of immediate concern.

What was formerly Invest 95L and Tropical Depression Two was upgraded to Tropical Storm Berl late Friday, and we expect it to become a hurricane by the end of the weekend.

"The system is a remarkably favorable region for significant and rapid development. It's very rare for late June. Light wind shear and historically warm sea surface temperatures will cause this," said FOX 35 Storm Team Meteorologist Noah Bergren. "I think it could make a run briefly at major, Category 3 status late this weekend."

We think a sprawling high-pressure dome should safely deflect Beryl south from Florida, so Floridians need only remain in tune with the forecast.

The most likely path for Hurricane Beryl will be across the Caribbean, then either into Central America or possibly into the Gulf, then towards Texas or Mexico. A path curving northeast into Florida is very unlikely at this time.

A second system is right behind Beryl and could become a tropical depression over the next seven days. A third system is in the Western Caribbean Sea but could become better organized once it crosses over the Yucatán Peninsula and into the Bay of Campeche.