Tropical Storm Fred

Tropical Storm Fred

Tropical Storm Fred emerged Monday night and appears destined to head north into the distant Atlantic and die. Before doing so, it might strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said. As of 5 a.m. today, Fred, the sixth named storm of the season, was 285 miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands, moving west at 15 mph. It had sustained winds of 50 mph.

Forecasters with the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Fred was gradually becoming more organized and had the potential to become a hurricane within the next 36 hours. Tropical storms become hurricanes when their top sustained winds reach 74 mph. At 5 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Fred was centered about 285 miles (460) southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands and was moving west at about 15 mph. A gradual turn to the west-northwest and northwest with a decrease in forward speed was forecast over the next two days, the center said.

“Given the current organization and favorable shot-term environment … Fred certainly has the potential to become a hurricane within the next 36 hours,” the center said. Fred’s anticipated immediate track would keep it far from the Gulf of Mexico, where U.S. oil and gas operations are clustered. It was the sixth named tropical storm of the 2009 Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season, which runs from June through November. Energy traders keep a close eye on storms that could enter the Gulf of Mexico and disrupt offshore U.S. oil and natural gas production or refinery operations along the coast.