Fred weakens into a tropical depression as it crosses Hispaniola

Tracking the Tropics: Tropical Depression Fred

Tropical Storm Fred weakened into a tropical depression on Wednesday evening as it crossed over the mountainous island of Hispaniola.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Tropical Storm Fred weakened into a tropical depression on Wednesday evening as it crossed over the mountainous island of Hispaniola.

The center of Tropical Depression Fred was located 20 miles southeast of Cap-Haitien, Haiti. It had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph and was moving at west-northwest at 15 mph.

A FOX 35 Storm Alert Weekend has been declared for this Saturday and Sunday. Impacts from what is expected to be a weak tropical storm or depression are looking likely as the storm passes by over the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Forecasters say Fred will restrengthen again into a tropical storm on Thursday as it emerges over water.

On the forecast track, the center of Fred is expected to be over northern Haiti overnight, move near the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas on Thursday, and move near or north of the northern coast of central Cuba Thursday night and Friday.

Little, if any change, in strength is expected overnight, but slow re-intensification is forecast to begin by Thursday night.

TRACK THE TROPICS: Visit the FOX 35 Storm Team Hurricane Center for the latest tropical weather outlook and more

Considering the very wet conditions as of late, flooding will be a concern during this coming weekend. The heaviest rain could arrive during the day on Saturday, continuing into Sunday and even Monday.

We're expecting winds to increase a bit with the close passage of Fred. Best estimates right now look to be a Saturday morning into a Saturday night time frame.

Wind speeds remain uncertain right now but, breezy to occasionally windy in passing squalls seems to be feasible at this time.

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Make sure to download the FOX 35 Storm Team Weather App for updates.

Stay with the FOX 35 Storm Team for the very latest as the tropics continue heating up. We're approaching the peak of the season which usually occurs around September 10th.