Claims News Service, Sept. 5, 1:52 p.m. EST — The following report is from Carvill's ReAdvisory atmospheric physicist Dr. Steve Smith.

Tropical Storm Florence became the sixth named storm of the 2006 season this morning as the National Hurricane Center (NHC) upgraded Tropical Depression Six. The NHC has been expecting it to become a tropical storm for a number of days. Its intensification had, until this morning, been hampered by a combination of wind shear and dry air. Consequently, Florence is barely a tropical storm and any intensification over the next several days likely will be slow. Florence is, however, a very large storm with tropical storm force winds extending out 115 miles from the center.

The hurricane models are presenting a rough picture of Florence's track over the next several days. The high pressure associated with the strong Bermuda High system to Florence's north will force the storm in a general west or west-northwest direction. Beyond that, the situation becomes more fluid:

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