Tropical Storm Elsa upgraded to hurricane as it heads toward Florida

Tropical Storm Elsa this morning was upgraded to hurricane status. As of now, Florida is in the projected cone of uncertainty and could pass northwest of the Orlando area.

As of this morning, Elsa will pass near or over portions of the Windward Islands or the southern Leeward Islands this morning, move across the eastern Caribbean Sea late today and tonight, and move near the southern coast of Hispaniola on Saturday. By Sunday, Elsa is forecast to move near Jamaica and portions of eastern Cuba.

By the time it gets to Florida it would be downgraded back to a Tropical Storm and pass northwest of Walt Disney World and Orlando, but the there is still a lot of uncertainty.

An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft is currently entering the hurricane, and a NOAA aircraft is scheduled to investigate the system this afternoon. There are no changes to the forecast track at this time, according to NOAA.

All should keep track and we will be updating this as the days progress, but please be aware, that the average National Hurricane Center track errors are 175 miles at four days out and 200 miles at five days out. So, the track can change.