Fiona now Cat. 4 hurricane, moderate rip current risk for NC coast

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Fiona is now a major Category 4 hurricane as it pulls north away from Turks and Caicos and Bahamas, according to the National Hurricane Center.

It will bring with it a moderate rip current risk for the much of the North Carolina coast on Wednesday.

Conditions should improve in those area on Wednesday with a break where the storm will strengthen before passing west of Bermuda with rain and strong winds Thursday night.

Fiona is expected to move quickly toward Canada by the end of the week and should start losing some wind intensity. It will still carry damaging winds and flooding starting Friday night.

It will then transition to an extratropical storm near Labrador.

A new storm has also been named in the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Gaston developed in the central Atlantic Tuesday and is southwest of Azores. That area may get some showers and breezy weather toward the end of the week.

A low pressure system of the south Atlantic is approaching Windward Islands and could become a tropical depression or storm before moving through on Wednesday. This likely becomes a hurricane this weekend as it crosses the Caribbean. Parts of Central America, Jamaica, Caymans and Cuba could be impacted depending on the exact track and intensity of the system.

A tropical wave several hundred miles west-southwest of Cabo Verde Islands has a low chance to develop over the next several days as it moves northwest. Lastly, a wave moving off of Africa Thursday will have a medium chance of development late this week.

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