Projected to stay east of Florida, central Bahamas
The National Hurricane Center had been talking about a tropical wave headed westward across the Atlantic for the better part of a week, noting slim chances of it developing as it neared Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and eastern Cuba.
At 11 a.m., the NHC noted it had become Tropical Storm Oscar, a tiny storm with 40 mph winds.
At 2 p.m., it became Hurricane Oscar with 80 mph winds.
Well, that escalated quickly.
When Hurricane Hunters investigated the storm the afternoon, it found hurricane-force winds in a small area around a 989-millibar center, prompting hurricane warnings for the Turks & Caicos and Southeast Bahamas and watches for eastern Cuba.
So we have our first hurricane since Milton sliced through Florida last week. The good news is that it is forecast to be steered to the northeast by a trough digging into the Atlantic, and not affect Florida. (Phew!)
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Nadine also formed overnight, and is making it's way into Belize and Central America.
