Tropical Storm Fred developed just south of Puerto Rico late Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center confirmed, heading for the Dominican Republic and Haiti, with forecasters warning that its heavy rains could cause dangerous flooding and mudslides. After a quiet month of no named storms in the region, Fred became the sixth of the Atlantic hurricane season as expected late Tuesday and tropical storm warnings were already in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

“The most important thing today is preparation,” said Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi. “I am not going to minimize the potential impact of this event … we expect a lot of rain.” Florida could be in the storm's path, but forecasters said it was too early to determine the exact track. Data from the aircraft and surface observations indicate the disturbance gained some strength Tuesday night, with maximum sustained winds near 40 mph with higher gusts. Some additional strengthening is forecast overnight before Fred reaches eastern Dominican Republic on Wednesday morning.

Fred was the first named storm since Hurricane Elsa dissipated one month ago on July 9. Gradual strengthening was forecast, and the disturbance was expected to become a tropical storm Tuesday night, the center said. The disturbance is expected to pass near or over the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico late Tuesday and early Wednesday, be near or over Hispaniola on Wednesday and be near the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands on Thursday. A tropical storm warning was in effect for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic. 

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