Katia Still a Tropical Storm, but Strengthening

Still far out at sea, Tropical Storm Katia continues to spin and gain strength.

The National Hurricane Center reports as of 11 a.m. Wednesday that the storm has gained strength with winds now reaching 65 mph and is still expected to gain hurricane strength (winds 74 mph or higher) early Thursday.

Katia could reach major hurricane status (category 3 with winds of 110 mph) by Monday, according to The Weather Channel.

Meterologist Jim Cantore tweeted Wednesday afternoon that he believes "#Katia will NOT go into the Gulf of Mexico nor will it hit the leeward islands. Jury still out on any impacts to the mid-Atlantic/Northeast."

While still too early to tell exactly what the storm will do and if it will impact land at all, most models predict Katia will continue moving west-northwest and eventually make a more northward turn sending it east of Bermuda but still well off the U.S. east coast.

Katia was located at 14.2°N 40.8°W and was traveling west-northwest at 21 mph.

The National Hurricane Center does note that some dry air near the storm's core could slow Katia's development into a hurricane if it gets sucked into the storm's center. Several of the prediction models disagree about the amount of wind shear the storm will experience over the course of the next few days which also could affect its development.

There is also watching a tropical wave system that will be passing over the Yucatan Peninsula into the Gulf of Mexico in the next couple of days. The system currently has a 30 percent chance of turning into a tropical storm, but could strengthen as it hits Gulf waters.