As of the latest update, issued at 4 a.m. CDT Thursday, Tropical Storm Erin was located about 990 miles east of the Leeward Islands and was on a path to the west at 17 mph. (The next update will come later this morning, and updates will become more frequent once watches and warnings go into effect for the storm.)

The system is expected to strengthen into a hurricane by Friday and could even become a major hurricane, according to experts.

In the Gulf, Invest 98L has a low chance for development, before it moves inland over northeastern Mexico or southern Texas by late Friday. The National Weather Service in Brownsville, Texas, said regardless of tropical development, locally heavy rain and increased swells "will be a concern" along the Texas coast.