Tropics: Fernand gains strength, Dorian moving towards East Coast, new depression forms off Africa

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The National Hurricane Center is tracking three tropical cyclones.

Hurricane Dorian is moving towards northern Florida at six miles per hour with 110 moh winds, the National Hurricane Center said this evening. A turn toward the north is expected tomorrow, and then a curve to the north-northeast on Thursday. The hurricane center says this track will brin Category 2 Dorian dangerously close to the Florida and Georgia coasts.

While Dorian's top wind speeds have dropped, the area it covers has expanded, with hurricane-force winds extending 60 miles from the center, and tropical storm-force winds extending 175 miles out from the center.

Tropical Storm Fernand in the southern Gulf of Mexico has increased strength a little, with maximum winds at 50 mph. Some strengthening is possible before Fernand makes landfall in Mexico tomorrow.

The eighth depression of the season has formed in the eastern tropical Atlantic. TD 8 could become a tropical storm tomorrow, but it is not expected to become a hurricane. The plot for this storm takes it north-west into the Atlantic and not towards any land.